In response to the threat posed by Wagner mercenaries in Belarus, Lithuania's State Border Guard Service (VSAT) plans to deploy more officers to the country’s border with Belarus.
“We plan to increase our contingent in the near future," VSAT chief Rustamas Liubajevas told reporters on Tuesday after a meeting with the president.
He refrained, however, to elaborate on how many additional officers would be deployed at the border.
Asked whether only border guards are currently working at the border with Belarus, Liubajevas said "there are certain actions that are being carried out by other institutions", but he refrained from naming them.
After the failed mutiny in Russia in June, several thousand members of the Wagner mercenary group moved to Belarus. According to the country's leader Alexander Lukashenko, they are training Belarusian soldiers.
Further reading
Lithuania and Poland have information on the presence of around 4,000 mercenaries in Belarus, and some of them are close to the Lithuanian and Polish borders.
In response to potential threats, Lithuania plans to close two of its six border crossing points – Šumskas and Tverečius.
Liubajevas said the closures "would not have a very significant impact on the movement of freight traffic", as they are used either by empty freight vehicles or by travellers.
Regarding the threats posed by Wagner, the VSAT chief said "the possibility of provocations is high", adding that "so far we have not seen any particular provocations or activity, and we have informed the president about it".
Newsletter
Every Friday morning.
