Poland set to deploy 10,000 troops at border with Belarus

NATO's Poland has planned to deploy a military division of its troops to beef up the border with Belarus, a Russian ally, amid Minsk's call for dialog and Russia's warning of Warsaw's intention to occupy Western Ukraine.

Poland's Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said on Thursday that Warsaw is planning to move up to 10,000 additional troops to the border with Belarus to support the Border Guard.

"About 10,000 soldiers will be on the border, of which 4,000 will directly support the Border Guard and 6,000 will be in the reserve," the minister said in a Thursday interview about Warsaw's plans to boost its borders amid the Ukraine-Russia war.

"We decided to move troops closer to the Belarusian border in order to... scare the aggressor so that the aggressor doesn't dare to attack Poland," he said.

Poland has been bolstering its border while sounding the alarm about the threats allegedly posed by neighboring Belarus, warning against foreign "provocations" especially involving the Russian paramilitary Wagner fighters currently based in the country.

Poland shares a 418-kilometer-long (260-mile) border with Belarus.

Poland deploys 1,000 troops along eastern border,

Poland strengthens its military forces along its eastern border amid the Ukraine war with Russia.

Warsaw claims it needs to strengthen its border as the Wagner fighters could try to cross into Poland or help migrants flood into the European Union.

In related news, Poland's deputy Interior Minister Maciej Wasik said on Wednesday that Poland would send 2,000 additional troops to its frontier with Belarus.

Earlier this week, the head of Poland's Border Guard, Tomasz Praga, claimed that 19,000 people have tried to cross the Polish-Belarusian border illegally this year.

Russia, however, has not taken Poland's deployments as friendly, rebuking Warsaw for the military buildup and the concentration of troops on the border with Belarus.

In remarks on Wednesday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Poland, a staunch ally of Ukraine in its war with Russia, is turning into a main tool for the United States' anti-Russian policy.

Shoigu said Warsaw aims to form a joint Polish-Ukrainian military unit apparently for security, but with the concealed motive of occupying western Ukraine.

Moscow says, Warsaw aims to occupy western Ukraine under the pretext of establishing a joint military force with the ex-Soviet republic.

Poland blackmailing Belarus with military deployment to border: Lukashenko

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko accuses Poland of blackmailing his country by sending armored vehicles and troops to the border amid an escalation of a migration crisis.

The Kremlin says the West and NATO are playing a direct role in the Ukraine conflict by pouring advanced weapons and military equipment into the country, warning that NATO weapons are "legitimate targets" for its armed forces.

Lukashenko cites upcoming election in Poland 

Meantime, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said on Friday, just a day after Warsaw's announcement, that Minsk was ready to start talking with Warsaw to de-escalate the rising border tensions.

"We need to talk to the Poles," Lukashenko said, Belarus state news agency Belta reported. "We are neighbors and you don't choose your neighbors," he added. 

"They have parliamentary elections on October 15, of course, they need to escalate the situation... to show that they have properly armed (Poland)," Lukashenko said.

Warsaw, which has called on Ukraine's Western-backed leaders to admit their shameful past, has also warned of "provocations" involving the Wagner group, which Lukashenko is hosting after their failed mutiny in Russia.

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