Wagnerites may emerge among migrants heading to EU from Belarus – President of Lithuania
Gitanas Nausėda, President of Lithuania, has noted that with the Wagner Group being transferred to Belarus, the risk of Wagnerites appearing among illegal migrants who attempt to enter EU territory increases.
Source: Nausėda in an interview for Politico, as reported by European Pravda, referring to LRT
Details: The West must analyse all risks that arise with Evgeny Prigozhin and his Private Military Company Wagner in Belarus and prepare for them.
Quote: "One day those illegal migrants could be Wagner fighters. Are we prepared for such kind of challenge?We do not have the right to reject such a possibility," Nausėda stated.
Details: So far, the intelligence has no information concerning whether a significant number of Wagnerites have arrived in Belarus besides Prigozhin himself, but he called to get prepared for this.
Quote: "This shows that we have to be prepared, we have to understand that illegal migration or instrumentalised migration in the hands of tyrants, like Alexander Lukashenko or Vladimir Putin, is a different kind of migration. This requires decisions that are suitable for this kind of migration," Nausėda added.
Background:
- Since summer 2021, Lukashenko’s regime has organised a hybrid migration crisis on the borders of its European neighbours, facilitating the arrival of migrants from Africa and the Near East. The Baltic States and Poland consider this revenge for the harsh position concerning Lukashenko’s repressions against the Belarusian opposition and civic society.
- After 4,000 people had crossed the Lithuanian border this way, Lithuania changed the legislation so that the border guards could send migrants away at the border. Since then, about 26,000 people have not been allowed to enter.
- Polish border guards have recently reported attacks from Belarus for the first time.
- Poland stated that it is fortifying the border with Belarus due to the announced transfer of Wagnerites there.
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