Poland moves troops to border, NATO turns summit into fortress but Wagner base empty

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Poland has begun moving more than 1000 troops to its border with Belarus, and NATO is fortifying its summit base in Lithuania, fearing the presence of Wagner mercenaries in the Kremlin-allied Belarus could destabilise the region.

But, in a rare show of apparent openness on the weekend, Belarusian officials claimed there were no Wagner mercenaries yet at the camp readied for them.

Major General Leonid Kasinsky shows journalists around a disused camp where he says Wagner fighters are yet to arrive on Friday.Credit: REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

Wagner fighters marching on Moscow during last month’s extraordinary but brief coup attempt were offered a disused military base in Belarus as part of a deal struck with the Kremlin – they stood down, and in exchange, charges against them were dropped by Russia.

In that former military camp surrounded by fir and birch forest just north of Osipovichi, more than 300 large tents have been put up by the Belarusian army but Wagner mercenaries have yet to say if they want to use it.

Taking foreign journalists on the tour of site Friday, General-Major Leonid Kasinsky of Belarusian defence ministry said no one from Wagner had visited so far.

Major General Leonid Kasinsky gives journalists a tour of the disused base on Friday.Credit: REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko offered Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin the use of camps including the one at Tsel, though he said on Thursday that Prigozhin and his fighters were still in Russia.

The Kremlin has also begun stationing tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, but Lukashenko has insisted they are defensive only and he has a say over whether they were used.

The Wagner camp, empty besides mosquitoes, now raises questions about the fate of the deal President Vladimir Putin struck to defuse the biggest challenge to the Russian state since the failed 1991 hardline coup attempt against Mikhail Gorbachev.

Major Kasinsky would not confirm US intelligence suggesting tactical nuclear weapons might be housed nearby. “Perhaps the CIA thinks that; I don’t know what that’s based on. No one is ever going to tell you where the tactical nuclear weapons are stationed – you should understand that,” he told reporters.

Meanwhile, Poland’s defence minister confirmed Saturday that it had sent more troops to its eastern border with Belarus. And NATO has turned Vilnius, the site of next week’s summit of world leaders in Lithuania, into a fortress defended by advanced weaponry.

A Belarusian service member closes the gates of a disused base housing a tent camp set up for Wagner but unoccupied.Credit: REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

US President Joe Biden and other alliance leaders will meet on Tuesday just 32 kilometres from Lithuania’s razor-wire topped border fence with Belarus. Sixteen NATO allies have sent a total of about 1,000 troops to safeguard the summit, along with advanced air defence systems which the Baltic states lack.

“It would be more than irresponsible to have our sky unprotected as Biden and leaders of 40 countries are arriving,” Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said.

Germany deployed 12 vehicles Patriot missile launchers, used to intercept ballistic and cruise missiles or warplanes. Spain has brought a NASAMS air defence system, France is sending Caesar self-propelled howitzers, France, Finland, and Denmark are basing military jets in Lithuania, and the United Kingdom and France are supplying anti-drone capabilities, while Poland and Germany sent helicopters and special operations forces.

A soldier stands at the Polish border with Belarus, fortified with a metal wall and anti-tank obstacles.Credit: Omar Marques/Getty Images

The Baltic countries of Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia, once under Moscow’s rule but part of both NATO and the European Union since 2004, all spend above 2 per cent of their economies on defence, a larger share than most other NATO allies.

But for the region with total population of about 6 million people, this is not enough to sustain large militaries, invest in their own fighter jets or advanced air defence. For Nauseda, the allied effort to ensure air safety during the leader’s gathering means NATO needs to urgently set up permanent air defences in the Baltic states.

“We think about what happens after the summit ends, and we will work with allies to create a rotating force for a permanent air protection”, he told reporters.

At Vilnius airport, eight German-operated Patriot missile launchers were seen standing with their nozzles pointed in the direction of Russia’s Kaliningrad. Two more pointed towards Belarus. All of the launchers were operational since Friday morning.

With Reuters

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