23-7-2023 (MOSCOW) In the wake of rising tensions between Belarus and neighboring Poland, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko are set to meet on Sunday (Jul 23). The Kremlin confirmed the meeting, which comes just two days after Moscow issued a warning stating that any aggression against Belarus, its staunchest ally, would be regarded as an attack on Russia.
The situation escalated earlier this week when Poland decided to deploy military units closer to its border with Belarus in response to the arrival of forces from Russia’s Wagner Group in Belarus. In response, Putin asserted that Moscow would utilize all available means to respond to any hostility directed towards Minsk.
According to the Kremlin, Lukashenko is visiting Russia for a working session and will discuss the further development of the “strategic partnership” between the two countries with President Putin.
It is worth noting that while Lukashenko refrained from sending his own troops to Ukraine, he allowed Russia to utilize Belarusian territory to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Since then, Lukashenko has had frequent meetings with Putin, and the two nations have conducted numerous joint military training exercises. Moreover, in a controversial move condemned by the West, Lukashenko permitted his country to be used as a base for Russian nuclear weapons in June.
Lukashenko’s strong reliance on Putin for political survival has raised concerns in Kyiv that Putin may pressure him to join a fresh ground offensive, potentially opening a new front in Russia’s faltering invasion of Ukraine.
In the latest developments on Thursday, the Belarusian defense ministry announced that Wagner Group mercenaries had begun training Belarusian special forces at a military range located just a few kilometers from Poland’s border. This development raises alarm bells, considering Poland is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
In a video released on Wednesday, Wagner’s chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin, was seen welcoming his fighters to Belarus. He informed them that, for the time being, they would not be involved in the war in Ukraine, but instead, he instructed them to prepare for Wagner’s operations in Africa while simultaneously training the Belarusian army.
