"An element of psychological warfare". Ministers condemn planned Belarusian military drills near border

EU and NATO members Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, which share a border with Belarus, have been increasingly concerned about border security since hundreds of Wagner mercenaries arrived in Belarus.

Poland's ministers of the interior, foreign affairs, and defence met with Polish police and border guard officers and soldiers in Krynki at a special briefing on the situation at the country's border with Belarus.

"This Friday, on the other side (of the border), exercises, maneuvers of the Belarusian army will begin. We know that troops of the Russian Federation will participate in these maneuvers," said Interior Minister Mariusz Kamiński.

"The scale of these maneuvers will probably not be large due to the involvement of the Russians in the bloody war in Ukraine, but in fact, these maneuvers are an element of psychological warfare against Poland and our citizens," he added.

Kamiński also said that the involvement of Russian forces is expected, but will remain at a smaller scale due to the war in Ukraine.

The countries have also seen an increase in the number of mainly Middle Eastern and African migrants trying to cross the border in recent months and accuse Belarus of facilitating them, a claim Minsk rejects.

"The Polish border is and will be protected thanks to the Polish government, which has created a fence on the border," said Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak.

"Imagine what would happen if that fence wasn't there today. Because it must be remembered that these hybrid attacks (migrant incursions) are still taking place," he added.

Poland has closed all but one border crossing point with Belarus this year following the imprisonment of a journalist of Polish origin and expulsions of Polish diplomats.

The Polish Border Guard published a video on the X platform on August 26 showing illegal migrants jumping over the fence built by Poland along the border with Belarus.