(AmericanProsperity.com) – Russian politician Andrey Kartapolov said during a July 16 interview in Russian media that the Wagner mercenary group’s repositioning of forces to Belarus is “bad” for NATO. He explained this situation puts Russian forces in a position where they could “quickly” strike some of the main NATO targets near Lithuania and even Poland.
Kartapolov, who used to be a colonel in the Russian military, said that the private military group could do “a lot of damage” in these two NATO countries. He pointed out that its new location in Belarus allows the group to attack Lithuania and Poland border regions “in just a couple of hours.”
Wagner’s presence in Belarus came after the mutiny that the group executed in Russia back in June. To end the military rebellion, the Kremlin offered Wagner’s leader Yevgeny Prigozhin full amnesty to him and his men, along with an exile in Belarus. The mediator of the negotiations between Prigozhin and Russian President Vladimir Putin was Belarusian dictator Aleksander Lukashenko.
According to different reports, since Prigozhin left for the Belarusian capital Minsk, many Wagner fighters have started to join him. Apparently, many of them have been helping train the Belarusian armed forces with Lukashenko’s permission.
Kartapolov said that Belarus represents a strategically important crossroads in Europe, as it borders Ukraine and NATO nations like Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia. He explained this border includes the Suwalki Corridor, which is a long land along the border of Lithuania and Poland that sits between Belarus and Kaliningrad.
During the interview, the former colonel said that the Kremlin will need the corridor “very much” in case “something happens.” He also said that Russia can feel safe in this scenario because Wagner’s presence in Belarus will allow the group to take the corridor when needed in a fast manner.
During an interview with Fox News, former DIA intelligence officer Rebekah Koffler said that the move of these mercenaries to Belarus could be part of Putin’s plan. She explained this plan would be the opening of a new front in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a country that is now “in possession” of nuclear weapons.
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