Ukraine war: Poland increases number of troops on Belarus border as Russia advances in Kharkiv

Mariusz Blaszczak met in Jarylowka, in eastern Poland, with some of the troops recently deployed close to the Belarus border.

He insisted that the increased military presence is purely a deterrent move, not a hostile act, as Minsk and Moscow are claiming.

“There is no doubt that the Belarus regime is cooperating with the Kremlin and that the attacks on the Polish border are intended to destabilise our country,” Blaszczak said.

Two Belarus military helicopters briefly entered Poland’s airspace last week, a move considered by Warsaw to be a deliberate provocation.

Blaszczak said that actions taken by Belarus “pose a threat to our security” and for that reason, Poland is building up its potential “to deter an aggressor".

He said this week that up to 10,000 Polish Army and Territorial Defense troops will be stationed on the border with Belarus, in addition to the usual Border Guards.

Some will be in active training and patrolling, others on standby.

Lithuania has closed two of its six crossing points with Belarus as tensions between the two neighbours rise. 

Vilnius is warning against provocations from Minsk and fighters from the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, who are now partly based in Belarus after their short-lived rebellion in Russia.

"By granting asylum to Wagner's mercenaries, Belarus has become a state that harbours a terrorist organisation", Lithuanian Deputy Foreign Minister Mantas Adomenas told the press.

Vilnius believes that Minsk could be trying to recruit Lithuanians travelling on Belarusian territory for espionage purposes, put pressure on them or blackmail them by checking the contents of their telephones.

"All Lithuanian citizens travelling to Belarus must carefully assess the risks, including those to their