Poland will deploy hundreds of soldiers and vehicles to the border with Belarus, its military has said, stressing the need to prevent “attempts to destabilize” the region. Minsk has levied similar allegations, claiming Belarusian coup-plotters are being trained on Polish soil.
Warsaw’s 12th Mechanized Division, part of the Polish Land Forces, announced the operation on Friday. In the coming days, around 1,000 troops and 200 units of equipment will be stationed in the eastern province of Podlasie, located alongside the border with Belarus.
“The aim of Operation ‘Safe Podlasie’ is to… demonstrate our will and ability to respond immediately to attempts to destabilize the situation at our border,” the division said.
While the military offered few details about the mission, Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak appeared to refer to the move earlier on Friday. Speaking to a local media outlet, Mariusz said Warsaw is working to “deter a potential aggressor” and vowed to “respond to all these threats.” He went on to claim that Poland was “attacked in a hybrid way from the territory of Belarus” two years ago, though did not elaborate.
“The Polish Army already has over 175,000 soldiers under arms. Thank you very much for the fact that so many people volunteer to serve in the Polish Army. It is very important that Poland is safe,” the minister added.
A close ally to Moscow, Minsk has also accused Poland of harboring Belarusian exiles allegedly training for an insurrection in their home country. The government has said it was closely monitoring the militants, stating that fighters are also hosted in training camps based in Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, and the Czech Republic.
“We know particular recruitment posts; know who is involved. We know the training camps, the identities of instructors, who teaches which parts of the course,” Belarus’ security chief, Ivan Tertel, said in April.
In an interview with Russian state TV last month, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko explained that Minsk would enter the conflict in Ukraine “if aggression is committed against us,” warning of potential attacks from the territory of Poland, Ukraine, or any of the Baltic states.
