Poland will protect its border with Belarus with around 10,000 soldiers

Poland plans to reinforce its eastern border with Moscow ally Belarus with "around" 10,000 troops, the defence minister announced Thursday, warning of potential security risks.

"It will be about 10,000 soldiers, 4,000 of whom will be directly involved in operations in support of the border police and another 6,000 as reinforcements," Mariusz Blaszczak told public radio.

The day before, the minister had announced the deployment of 2,000 additional troops to reinforce its eastern border, where 2,000 soldiers are already stationed.

Poland, a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), recently warned of Belarus' provocations and the risks of the presence of the Russian mercenary group Wagner in the country.

Warsaw also accuses Minsk and Moscow of organising a new record flow of migrants to the EU in order to destabilise the region.

According to Polish border guards, 19,000 migrants have tried to enter Poland since the beginning of the year, compared to 16,000 in 2022.

In July, more than 4,000 migrants tried to cross the Polish border.