NATO member Poland warns Russian Wagner forces moving closer to border

[Kamaji]

NATO member Poland warns Russian Wagner forces moving closer to border: report

By Danielle Wallace, Fox News
July 30, 2023

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki reportedly warned Saturday that a group of about 100 Russian Wagner mercenaries were moving through Belarus closer to Poland’s border. 

Poland, both a member of the European Union and NATO, has accused Belarus of wielding “hybrid warfare” in facilitating illegal migration at the Polish border, suggesting Minsk has encouraged migrants to fly into Belarus under the false promise of easy access to the European Union, the BBC reported.

During a press conference at an arms factory in Gliwice, southern Poland, where Leopard tanks used by the Ukrainian army are being repaired, Morawiecki said about 100 Wagner mercenaries had moved close to the Suwalki Gap, according to The Associated Press.

The region is a strategic stretch of Polish territory situated between Belarus and Kaliningrad, a Russian territory separated from the mainland.

The Suwalki Gap also runs along Poland’s 60-mile-long border with fellow European Union member state Lithuania.

Morawiecki claimed that the mercenaries might falsely present themselves as Belarusian border guards to help migrants move across to the EU.

“Now the situation becomes even more dangerous,” Morawiecki said, adding that “this is certainly a step toward a further hybrid attack on Polish territory.”

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Source:  https://nypost.com/2023/07/30/nato-member-poland-warns-russian-wagner-forces-moving-closer-to-border-report/

[Kamaji]

So now Putin is trying to directly antagonize NATO.

[Timber Rattler]

Seems that he's using Wagner, or what's left of it, to threaten Poland.

[GtHawk]

Looks like Wagner is shifting to FAFO mode.

[ScottinVA]

Those Wagner pukes need to be liquidated upon the first step onto Polish soil.

[Smokin Joe]

Early on after the 'Wagner insurrection', I suspected a feint on the part of Wagner forces to reposition them to attack from Belarus. I suspected they would go after Kviv, but this raises other possibilities.

[Free Vulcan]

So now Putin is trying to directly antagonize NATO.

The problem is NATO is a hollow shell and may fold like a cheap tent.

[DB]

One hundred people isn't exactly an army...

[Kamaji]

The problem is NATO is a hollow shell and may fold like a cheap tent.

Doubtful.

[Smokin Joe]

One hundred people isn't exactly an army...

Not an Army, but plenty for snoopin' and poopin'.

[DB]

Not an Army, but plenty for snoopin' and poopin'.

I have to believe there's a lot of that going on in the region already. Identify them and take them out.

[Maj. Bill Martin]

The problem is NATO is a hollow shell and may fold like a cheap tent.

NATO may be something of a shell compared to what it was a couple decades ago, but then the Russian army is in much worse shape then it was back then, and even back then we had a massive advantage.

NATO air power alone would be very decisive, and very quickly.  And in terms of ground forces, the Poles alone would tear to shreds whatever Belarus and Wagner could cobble together.

[ironhorsedriver]

Poland isn't the horse riding cavalry that Germany attacked in 39. Wagner would face a formidable foe.

[Timber Rattler]

Poland isn't the horse riding cavalry that Germany attacked in 39. Wagner would face a formidable foe.

Actually, the Polish cavalry story was a myth concocted by Goebbels during the invasion.  The Poles had tanks and actually inflicted the following casualties on the Germans:

17,269 killed
30,300 wounded
3,500 missing
236 tanks
800 vehicles
246 aircraft

Even Hitler admitted to the unusually high number of casualties even though his numbers were lower:

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/2513833

And the Germans had a lot more horses than the Poles. 

https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/wwii-german-cavalry-horses-of-the-blitz/#:~:text=The%20WWII%20German%20cavalry%20corps,rebirth%20of%20the%20German%20cavalry.

[Maj. Bill Martin]

Poland isn't the horse riding cavalry that Germany attacked in 39. Wagner would face a formidable foe.

Wagner would get absolutely curb-stomped.  They've got maybe 20,000 troops.

Poland's armed forces have over 300,000 total.  Land forces have been bumped up to over 100,000.  They've got somewhere between 700-800 tanks, including a bunch of outstanding Korean K-2's and hundreds of Leopard II's.  Nearly 100 helicopters, 1,700 infantry fighting vehicles, and over 700 self-propelled artillery and MLRS.  They've also got a few thousand special forces that are really first rate.

And the Poles really hate the Russians.

[deb]

And the Poles really hate the Russians.

My husband and I went on a WWII tour through Poland a few years ago. Fell in love with the country and its people. One of our tour guides, a local man, made it abundantly clear that while the Poles hated the Nazis for all the horror they foisted on them, they DESPISED the Russians for what happened after the end of the war. It was eye-opening.

[DB]

Wagner would get absolutely curb-stomped.  They've got maybe 20,000 troops.

Poland's armed forces have over 300,000 total.  Land forces have been bumped up to over 100,000.  They've got somewhere between 700-800 tanks, including a bunch of outstanding Korean K-2's and hundreds of Leopard II's.  Nearly 100 helicopters, 1,700 infantry fighting vehicles, and over 700 self-propelled artillery and MLRS.  They've also got a few thousand special forces that are really first rate.

And the Poles really hate the Russians.

And Ukraine would welcome Polish air control over their land.

[Smokin Joe]

Just recall how the 303 group (expatriate Polish fighter pilots) treated the Nazi aircrews during the Battle of Britain. Those guys were there to kill Germans, period.