EU states issue Wagner ultimatum to Belarus

Poland and the Baltic countries have demanded that Minsk expel the Russian private military company

A group of EU nations bordering Belarus has demanded that Minsk expel the Russian Wagner private military company and repatriate illegal migrants allegedly massing at the border.

Speaking on Monday during a joint press conference with his Latvian, Estonian, and Lithuanian counterparts, Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski warned that the countries could shut their borders with Belarus.

“If there is a critical incident, regardless of whether it is at the Polish or Lithuanian border, we will retaliate immediately. All border crossings that have been opened so far will be closed,” Kaminski stated. He branded the Wagner Group an “extremely dangerous” yet “demoralized” force, which he claimed was “capable of anything.” 

We demand from the authorities in Minsk that the Wagner Group immediately leave the territory of Belarus and that illegal migrants immediately leave the border area and are sent back to their home countries.

Poland has repeatedly accused Belarus of facilitating illegal migration, alleging that it has deliberately been steering the flow of people from the Middle East and Africa to the EU. 

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“This situation is escalating. For several months, we have been dealing with attempts by migrants to illegally cross [the border],” Kaminski said. According to the Polish border guard, some 19,000 migrants have tried to enter Poland from Belarus thus far this year, compared to 16,000 during all of 2022.

The ultimatum to Minsk follows the death of Wagner Group leader Evgeny Prigozhin in a plane crash in Russia’s Tver Region last week. Several other senior members of the private military company were also killed in the incident. Thus far, Minsk has not responded to the demands from Poland and the Baltic states.

The Wagner Group was re-deployed to Belarus after launching a short-lived insurrection in Russia in late June. The presence of the group in Belarus has fueled the long-standing tensions between Minsk and Warsaw. Poland has claimed that the private military company is active along the border and is waging “hybrid warfare” against it. Minsk has dismissed the allegations, while Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko claimed Warsaw had “gone mad” with speculation surrounding Wagner.