A Russian MP fears a threat to the Kaliningrad enclave. He accuses Poland of corresponding intentions.
The pressure from Russia on Poland is growing. A member of the Duma, the Russian parliament, has now spoken out clearly against the NATO country. Andrei Gurulev railed against Warsaw in a television program. His criticism: that Poland was moving troops near the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad.
After the Prigozhin uprising and the move of Wagner mercenaries to Belarus, Poland had announced that it would send around 10,000 soldiers to the eastern border as reinforcements. In the north, Poland borders on the Russian enclave, in the port of which Moscow is said to have stationed warships and even nuclear missiles.
But Gurulev went even further: he claimed – without presenting any evidence – that Poland wanted to incorporate part of Ukraine. He called on the Russian government to oppose a troop deployment to the Kaliningrad border. “God forbid you come anywhere near Kaliningrad,” said the former military commander. “Everything will end badly for you. That’s the way it should be.”
Because of the stationing of Wagner mercenaries in Belarus, the Polish government had further secured its borders. The Suwalki gap probably also played a role here. It describes a small region between Lithuania and Poland, which is the only land connection between the Baltic States and NATO territory. It is therefore also seen as the Achilles’ heel should there be Russian attacks on the Baltic States. It also separates Belarus and Kaliningrad.
Do Wagner mercenaries want the Suwalki Gap?
According to a report in the American magazine “Newsweek”, one of the deputies of Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Reserve General Andrei Kartapolov, had already suspected that Wagner mercenaries could try to take this region. This would connect the enclave directly to Moscow’s important partner Belarus. However, that would be associated with a high risk: Since it would be an attack on NATO territory, the defense case would probably be declared in the western alliance.
Poland had announced that it would station a battalion in Augustów, a town near the Suwalki Gap. “We care about the security of the eastern flank,” Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak wrote on Platform X (formerly known as Twitter).
Relations between Belarus and Poland continued to deteriorate after the announcement of the troop deployment. Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko said Poles want to “escalate” the situation. At the same time, however, he hinted at talks.
