Experts: Wagner troops on Polish, Lithuanian borders no threat to Estonia
Security experts Kalev Stoicescu and Rainer Saks believe that Wagner troops near Belarus' borders with Poland and Lithuania are a mere provocation and pose no real threat, Delfi reports.
The PM of Poland Mateusz Morawiecki said that around one hundred Wagner mercenaries have moved to the Belarusian city of Hrodna near the Suwalki Gap. It is speculated that their purpose is to destabilize the situation on the Polish and Lithuanian borders.
Kalev Stoicescu, chairman of the Riigikogu National Defense Committee, said that the relocation of Wagner troops is an attempt to intimidate Russia and Belarus' neighbors.
"Their provocations should not be underestimated, while they should also not be made out to be more than they are. They will not achieve anything with a hundred Wagnerians, nor with a thousand."
Security expert Rainer Saks also believes that a hundred mercenaries will achieve little, with potential refugee unrest on Belarus' borders with Poland and Lithuania the only perceivable risk.
While Stoicescu said that the security of the Suwalki Gap is of critical importance also for Estonia, both experts believe events in Belarus do not pose a direct threat to Estonia at this time.
The parliamentary committee chair added that Poland, Lithuania and other NATO countries have sent Wagner a clear message that any attempt by the mercenaries to cross the border will result in their destruction.
Poland and Lithuania are weighing closing their borders with Belarus.
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Editor: Marcus Turovski
Source: Delfi