Poland deploys military task force on Belarus border

On Saturday, August 12, Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak announced the launch of Operation RENGAW: a Polish military task force was deployed on the Belarusian border

The announcement was made on the website of the Polish Ministry of Defence.

The mission of the military task force will be to train soldiers in the field and form a reserve in case the situation on the Polish-Belarusian border deteriorates. The task force will have a training and defence mission.

According to Blaszczak, the Polish army is in the process of being equipped with modern weapons and equipment. This proves "the strength of the Polish army - the strength that has the character of deterring the aggressor".

"There is no doubt that the Belarusian regime is cooperating with the Kremlin and that the exercises on the Polish border are aimed at destabilising our country. But I am convinced that this action will not succeed, thanks to the service of the Polish army and the strengthening of the border," Blaszczak said.

On July 29, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that more than 100 Wagner fighters had gone to the Suwalki corridor. Poland and Lithuania were considering closing their borders with Belarus due to concerns about the presence of mercenaries of the Russian Wagner PMC.  

On August 7, military exercises started in Belarus. The training grounds are located near the Suwalki corridor, a section between Poland, Lithuania, Belarus and Russia's Kaliningrad region.

On August 8, Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak granted the request of the Border Guard Commander and ordered additional soldiers to reinforce the border with Belarus. 

On August 10, he said that Poland plans to increase the number of troops on the border with Belarus to 10,000.

The British Ministry of Defence believes that Russia is almost certainly interested in presenting the Belarusian forces as opposed to NATO. That is why Belarus has launched military exercises on the border with Lithuania and Poland.