NATO-allied country Poland will deploy more troops on its Belarusian border after it claimed that Minsk had violated its airspace. It has raised the tension between NATO member Poland and key Russian ally Belarus, raising overall security concerns in Europe. Warsaw stated that two helicopters of the Belarusian military had allegedly violated the Polish airspace during training exercises on Tuesday, but the Minsk defense ministry rejected that claim and called it “far-fetched.” This activity occurred when there was increased mobility on the Suwalki Corridor, a minor part of the land between Poland and Lithuania. Troops of the Russian mercenary group Wagner are moving closer to that land which seems an apparent attempt to increase pressure on NATO and European members.

Belarusian President Lukashenko played a role in reaching a deal between Wagner’s chief and Kremlin President Putin after Wagner’s head announced to march to Moscow. After that deal, thousands of mercenary troops headed toward Belarus, and reportedly they trained Minsk forces there. The Polish defense minister said Minsk informed the Warsaw authorities about the exercises. Still, the helicopters crossed the border at a low altitude, making it difficult for radar systems to detect them. The ministry added that its government had ordered more troops and helicopters to deploy near the border.

Belarusian defense minister responded to the Polish official statement and said the helicopters Mi-24 and Mi-8 had not violated the airspace. Minsk’s defense department said the accusations made by the Polish government about helicopters crossing are far-fetched. He added those allegations were put to make a way to deploy forces on the border.

Suwalki Gap Is Essential to All, Eu, Russia, and NATO

The border crossing incident happened near the Suwalki gap, which is a 60-mile line having importance for Russia, Nato, Belarus, and the EU simultaneously. Poland passed the information about the incident to NATO. This border region between Russia’s Kaliningrad enclave and Belarus is crucial for connecting the Baltic states to the rest of the EU. It serves as the only overland link between these countries, making it an essential passage for trade and travel.

Last week, Polish President expressed that Wagner mercenary forces have been heading towards the Suwalki gap region through Grondo. Grongo is a city in western Belarus. The situation is becoming worse as the Russian group is getting closer to the Nato border. Polish officials further talked about the incident and said there could be more future violations and aggression by Russia and its ally Belarus.

Kremlin Can Cut Baltic States From Nato Allies And Invade Them

Professor Barbara, from Lancaster University in northern England, said Poland considers Belarus as one of the states responsible for the European security crisis. Barbara further told a news agency that the Suwalki gap would be a direct link for Russia to access Kaliningrad which could be an objective of President Putin’s government. The Suwalki gap is at the point where Russia can block it from both sides, through Kaliningrad on the west and Belarus on the east. If Kremlin invades that region from both sides and captures that area, it would be able to cut the Baltic states off from its NATO allies. Separating both sides would make it easier for Russia to invade countries like Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. The situation in Europe will become tense, and it has rang the alarm everywhere.

If Russia deployed troops to the Suwalki Gap, it would be considered that it is going to escalate the Nato members in the region, and there would be an immediate military reaction, Barbara added. It will further trigger more threats of full-scale war and nuclear escalation on both sides.

Minsk President has played a role in Kremlin aggression in Ukraine as Putin used Belarusian territory against Kyiv. Since the war started, the ties between the Russian President and Lukashenko became stronger. Russia also deployed its nukes into Belarusian territory during the war, raising tension and concerns about the Atomic war. Russia is trying to make Ukraine alone and cut it off from the rest of the world. There was a deal that allowed Ukraine to supply its grain to other countries, but the previous month, Russia withdrew from that deal and made Kyiv ineligible to export its agricultural products to the outer world.