Putin warns Poland that an attack on Belarus will mean aggression against Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Poland today that an attack on neighbouring Belarus would mean "aggression" against Russia, after Warsaw announced the deployment of military units near the Belarusian border.
"As far as Belarus is concerned, it is part of the state union (with Russia). Aggression against Belarus will mean aggression against the Russian Federation. We will respond to these with all the means at our disposal," Putin said during a meeting of the Russian Security Council.
Poland decided to reinforce security on its eastern flank with two military units after Wagner Group mercenaries began guarding the Belarusian-Polish border this week.
Putin also denounced alleged plans by Poland and Lithuania to create a grouping of regular forces aimed at "occupying" western Ukraine.
"The perspective is clear. If Polish units enter, for example, Lviv or other Ukrainian territories, they will stay. For good, by the way," he stressed.
The Kremlin chief accused Polish leaders of wanting to form "a kind of coalition and interfere directly in the conflict in Ukraine" in order to regain what they consider "historical territories" in western Ukraine.
"It is well known that they also yearn for Belarusian territories," he warned.
He accused the leaders of some Eastern European countries of turning "Russophobia" into an instrument of their internal politics, which "strongly stokes the flame of war".
He therefore considered it "a very dangerous game" to use Poles, Lithuanians and "anyone else who is needed" as "cannon fodder", now that the West is not able to deal with the Ukrainians.
"The authors of such plans should think about the consequences," he said.
Putin instructed Sergey Narishkin, head of the Foreign Intelligence Service (FSB), who also took part in the meeting, to closely monitor developments in the region.
According to Narishkin, the reason for Poland's plans is that Warsaw is coming to the conclusion that "the defeat of Ukraine is only a matter of time".
In this regard, Putin insisted that Kiev's Western backers are "clearly disappointed" with the Ukrainian counteroffensive, which began on 4 June, in which "tens of thousands" of enemy soldiers were reportedly killed.
He also noted that NATO's arsenals are "largely depleted", while the pace of arms production in the West does not allow it to quickly replenish weapons and ammunition on the front line.
Polish Special Services Minister Stanislaw Zaryn warned on Friday of "large-scale infiltration attempts" by "agents in the service of Russia" and recalled that 22 people have been arrested in the last 14 months on charges of espionage.