Vladimir Putin: Russian lawmaker claims the leader is preparing for attack on yet another country

Yevgeny Prigozhin’s failed mutiny led to a string of consequences both inside and outside of Russia.

Experts agree that it weakened Vladimir Putin who allegedly now resorts to body doubles out of fear someone could try to kill him and could even soon be removed from his top role by his close circle.

While ‘disgraced’ Yevgeny Prigozhinis missing and may have been ‘dealt with’ by the Kremlin leader and his entourage who reportedly wished nothing more than the warlord’s head on the pike, a lot of Wagner fighters ended up in Belarussparking fears that NATO borders could be attacked.

The presence of ‘serial killers on the loose’ aka Wagner mercenaries made Poland deploy additional security on its Eastern border.

And apparently, Warsaw’s instincts were right.

A lawmaker who participated in a debate on Russian state TV claims that Vladimir Putin ordered a mass relocation of Wagner fighters to Belarus to prepare for an attack against Poland.

Here is what we know.

Russia is allegedly preparing to attack Poland

Russian lawmaker Andrey Kartapolov made a worrying statement during a recent appearance on Russia-1's Evening with Vladimir Solovyov show: Wagner forces may be preparing for a new attack against Poland.

As the latter is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), it would mean a conflict with the whole alliance.

Although Kartapolov's claims could not be verified and neither Putin nor Wagner's leader have shown their intention to invade Poland, Warsaw didn’t waste time and moved extra troops and extra equipment to its border.

Kartapolov suggested the mercenaries were there to ‘train’ Belarusian soldiers for ‘a potential attack against Poland’ and seizure of strategically important Suwałki Gap - a small but crucial stretch of land that could see Poland cut off from its western neighbours if captured by the enemy. It offers the only land connection between NATO and the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Kartapolov said:

Should anything happen, we need this Suwałki Corridor very much.

The Ministry of Defense will figure out what they gave and what they took. I'm not talking about that, but about the fact that a strike force is ready to take this small corridor in a matter of hours.

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Should NATO be concerned about threats from Belarus's side?

Although Vladimir Solovyov tried to play Kartapolov's remarks down by saying that the Wagner Group turned over equipment to Russian authorities before leaving the country, mercenaries barging into Poland uninvited is something Poland and NATO are considering a real threat.

Would Wagner launch an attack by Vladimir Putin’s request, it would trigger a NATO response based on the alliance's Article 5, which states that an attack on one NATO country would be treated as an attack against all members of the coalition.

Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said:

Over 1,000 soldiers and almost 200 units of equipment from the 12th and 17th Mechanized Brigades are starting to move to the east of the country as part of the 'Safe Podlasie' operation.

He added that it was ‘a demonstration’ of his country’s ‘readiness to respond to attempts of destabilisation’ near the border.

Read more:

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Sources used:

- Newsweek: 'Putin Sent Wagner to Belarus to Prepare Attack on Poland: Russian Lawmaker'