Foreign
IN response to the large presence of thousands of Russian Wagner mercenary fighters in Belarus, Lithuania has increased its forces and protective measures on its 680-kilometre border.
“We have deployed more intelligence officers, our institutions are functioning, and there are certainly many more forces from the national defence system and law enforcement agencies.
“They also conduct joint exercises and take other actions,’’ Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė said in a podcast from the business paper, Verslo žinios, on Friday.
The prime minister did not provide further detail, saying “I don’t think it’s necessary to somehow present it in detail, and to throw around numbers or other things, like perhaps our colleagues from the Polish government sometimes do.’’
Poland said this week it plans send 10,000 troops to its border with Belarus.
The Wagner group sent its battle-hardened fighters from Ukraine to Belarus after the failed mutiny by its boss Yevgeny Prigozhin against the Russian military command in June.
The mercenaries’ status and mission in Belarus remain unclear, but their presence near NATO’s eastern flank has unsettled the region.
The situation is complicated also by the movement of migrants from other countries through Belarus towards Lithuania, which is tolerated and even encouraged by the Belarusian authorities.
In response, Lithuania plans to close two of its total six border crossings to its authoritarian-ruled neighbour as well.
“The existing proposal is, and the government will soon look at, closing the checkpoints where only people and citizens pass, not goods, and also empty vehicles,’’ Šimonytė continued.
Further closures would require coordination with neighbouring countries, since most vehicles crossing the border to Belarus are registered in the European Union. (Xinhua/NAN)
A.
– Aug. 11, 2023 @ 14:29 GMT |
Tags: Yevgeny Prigozhin
