2023-07-28 21:25:34
This was reported by the country’s deputy prime minister on polskieradio24 Yaroslav Kaczynski.
According to Kaczynski, the Polish army, which previously consisted of only three divisions, will have six divisions, and over time, probably, a reserve division will appear. He also clarified that now the government is working on the restoration of those disbanded under the previous president Donald Tusk military units and creation of new ones.
In particular, the Polish Armed Forces recently revived the missile division, which was disbanded in 2005. This division is now equipped with HIMARS missile launchers.
In turn, the Minister of Defense of Poland Mariusz Blaschak stated that the document on the increase of the army has already been signed.
“Today, the Polish Army has 172,000 soldiers. I’m talking here about all officials – professional and territorial defense. Our goal is for the Polish Army to have at least 300,000 soldiers. We will consistently implement this goal,” Blaschak clarified, adding that the country’s defense costs will increase to 4% of GDP.
After the mercenary camps of PMK “Wagner” appeared in Belarus, Poland decided to redeploy its troops to the eastern border. Alexander Lukashenko at a meeting with Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg declared that he was allegedly holding back the Wagnerites from marching on Warsaw and Rzeszów.
The employees of the “Wagner” PMC began to move to Belarus after the mutiny organized by its founder Yevgeny Prigozhin at the end of June 2023.
According to information from the “Belarusian Gayun” telegram channel, on the morning of July 23, the 11th regiment of the “Wagner” PMC arrived in Belarus. “Currently, it can be stated that the peak of the organized arrival of the mercenaries of the “Wagner” PMC to Belarus fell on the period of July 15-19. At the same time, small groups with mercenary equipment continue to arrive in Belarus,” the Telegram channel notes.
The camp near Osipovichi, in the village of Tsel, is called the main base of the “Wagner” PMC in Belarus.
On July 14, the Ministry of Defense of Belarus stated that the soldiers of the Belarusian Territorial Defense Forces are being trained by Prigozhin’s mercenaries, and on July 20, the agency reported on conducting joint exercises with Wagner soldiers at the Beroscieisky training ground near the Polish border.
In response, the Ministry of Defense of Poland stated that they are monitoring the situation on the border with Belarus and are “ready for various scenarios of the development of events.”
PVK “Wagner” is an unofficial Russian armed unit, created by an entrepreneur close to the Kremlin, Yevgeny Prigozhin. It is not formally connected with the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation or other state structures, however, as the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin said, the financing of this PMC was carried out from the state budget.
The Wagnerians took part in ground operations of the Russian Federation in Syria, Africa and in the war with Ukraine, where they are suspected of committing numerous war crimes. The United States recognized PMC “Wagner” as a transnational criminal organization and imposed sanctions against the structures associated with it and its founder.
The European Union also imposed sanctions against the “Wagner” PMC. The parliaments of Lithuania and France, as well as the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE, recognized PMK “Wagner” as a terrorist organization.
Attempted armed rebellion in Russia. The main thing
In the evening of June 23, the head of the “Wagner” PMC Yevgeny Prigozhin stated that the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation launched missile strikes on the rear camps of mercenaries and that “the evil carried by the country’s military leadership will be stopped.” The Ministry of Defense of Russia called these words “informational provocation”. At night, Prigozhin reported that “Wagner” fighters entered Russia from the occupied regions of Ukraine. On the morning of June 24, Prigozhin said that the “Wagner” PMC entered Rostov-on-Don and took control of Rostov’s military facilities, including the airfield. Later, Prigozhin announced that he would take control of military facilities in Voronezh. In the Moscow, Rostov and Voronezh regions of the Russian Federation, emergency security measures were introduced. In Russia, a criminal case was opened on armed rebellion.
Putin in his morning address, he said that “they are trying to push Russia to defeat and capitulation with the mutiny” and that “the actions against the mutineers will be severe.” Head of the Department of National Security in the Joint Transitional Cabinet Valer Sakashzyk in connection with the events in Russia, he called on Belarusians to “use the historical chance”. The leader of the democratic forces of Belarus, Tsikhanovskaya, urged diplomats and security forces not to choose between Putin and Prigozhin, and the military to expel Russian troops from Belarus. The joint transitional cabinet declared that it “denounces the political and military agreements with Russia” and announces the withdrawal of Belarus from the CSTO, EAEU and the CIS. Kalinouski’s regiment called on the citizens of Belarus to prepare for “liberation from dictatorship and occupation”. The press service of Alexander Lukashenko wrote on the evening of June 23 that he persuaded the founder of the “Wagner” PMC Yevgeny Prigozhin to stop the advance towards Moscow. Later, Prigozhin announced the end of the march and the return of the militants to the field camps. Later, there was news that Prigozhin would go to Belarus, and the criminal case against him in the Russian Federation would be stopped. On June 26, the Prosecutor General’s Office of Russia reported that the case against Prigozhin was not closed. On June 27, Alexander Lukashenko confirmed the arrival of Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the “Wagner” PMC, in Belarus. According to Lukashenka, hired PMC “Wagner” will work in Belarus as instructors, they were offered to use an abandoned military unit. On July 2, PMC “Wagner” announced that it would suspend recruitment into its ranks for a month. This was explained by the group’s temporary non-participation in the war against Ukraine and “moving to the Republic of Belarus.” In mid-July, PMK fighters began arriving in droves at the camp near the village of Tsel. The Ministry of Defense of Belarus announced joint training at the “Beraścieisky” training ground. Former leader of pro-Russian separatists in Donbass Igor Stralkov-Ghirkin in his telegram channel, referring to one of the commanders of the “Wagner” PMC, the head of staff with the call sign “Marx”, announced that up to 10 thousand “Wagner” fighters would arrive in Belarus. A total of 12 mercenary colonies came to Belarus. There was also construction equipment.
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