(Newsweek) Russian lawmaker Andrey Kartapolov suggested that President Vladimir Putin expelled the Wagner Group to Belarus to allegedly prepare for an attack against Poland during a recent appearance on Russian state television.
Last month, Putin exiled Wagner Group forces to Belarus following a failed mutiny against Russian military leadership that followed months of simmering tensions over Moscow’s stagnant invasion of Ukraine, which has seen Russian forces struggle to achieve their goals despite the vast size of its military. The attempted rebellion saw a breakdown of relations between the Kremlin and Wagner Group founder and leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, a longtime Putin ally. Meanwhile, much about the paramilitary organization’s plans in Belarus remain unknown.
However, Kartapolov said during a recent appearance on Russia-1’s Evening with Vladimir Solovyov that Wagner forces may be preparing for a new attack against Poland, a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Kartapolov’s claims could not be independently confirmed by Newsweek, and neither Putin nor Wagner leadership have signaled that there are imminent plans to invade Poland.
Kartapolov said Wagner troops were sent to “train” Belarusian soldiers in preparation for a potential attack against Poland to potentially seize control of the Suwałki Gap, a small but strategically important strip of Polish territory between Russia and the exclave of Kaliningrad that has long been a sticking point for Russia. His remarks come after Poland moved troops last week to its Eastern border due to Wagner concerns.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen during a meeting in Moscow on July 4. A Russian lawmaker during a recent appearance on Russian state TV alleged that Putin sent Wagner Group forces to Belarus to invade Poland.PAVEL BEDNYAKOV/SPUTNIK/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
“It is clear that Wagner PMC went to Belarus to train the Belarusian Armed Forces,” Kartapolov said. “Not only and not so much. There is such a thing as the Suwałki Corridor. You know very well what it is. Should anything happen, we need this Suwałki Corridor very much.”
He added that the Wagner Group will be prepared to take control of the land in a matter of hours.
“The Ministry of Defense will figure out what they gave and what they took. I’m not talking about that, but about the fact that a strike force is ready to take this small corridor in a matter of hours,” Kartapolov said.
Video of his remarks were translated and posted to Twitter by the account TheKremlinYap on Saturday morning.
Newsweek reached out to NATO and the Polish Ministry of Defense for comment via email.
Mercenaries from PMC “Wagner” were moved to Belarus to attack Poland and seize the Suwalki corridor, Russian MP Kartapolov reveals Putin’s brilliant plan pic.twitter.com/B7WNn3FfYA
— TheKremlinYap (@TheKremlinYap) July 15, 2023
