Russian Military Expert Evgeny Mikhailov: Wagner PMC Forces Want To March On Poland; They May Do So If Poland Tries To Realize Its Territorial Claims To Western Ukraine

Russian military expert Evgeny Mikhailov said in a July 28, 2023 interview on Tsargrad TV (Russia) that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s recent statements about the presence of Wanger PMC forces in Belarus and their desire to go to Poland is an indication that if Poland attempts to realize any of its territorial claims to western Ukraine, Wagner PMC will march on Poland. He said that such an action cannot be done without provocation since it would trigger NATO's Article V, but that it may happen if "certain prerequisites" appear.

Evgeny Mikhailov: "Actually, I would like to note that Alexander Lukashenko, with some schadenfreude, sent a message to his foreign partners saying that Wagner PMC has a desire to 'go for a walk' in Europe, and more precisely in Rzeszow and Warsaw in Poland. It is an unambiguous hint that was perceived by the Western countries.

"Correspondingly, we must remember that the Poles have been repeatedly asserting their claims to western Ukraine. And now, Wagner PMC appears. So, to some extent, we have drawn Poland's attention from invasion of Ukraine, or from some of its other claims, with the fact that in Belarus, there are Wagner [forces] that very much want to march to Poland. Of course, nobody will let them do it now, because it would constitute direct intervention and would trigger NATO's Article V with regard to defending Poland.

"But if certain prerequisites appear and Poland stats taking actions to occupy western Ukraine, and f we have to help somebody, as Alexander Lukashenko said, or if somebody appeals to us, then Wagner PMC will of course, most probably, receive an opportunity to get Rzeszow."