Since the military organisation’s brief mutiny against the Kremlin in June, the “Russian state has acted against some other business interests of Wagner owner Yevgeny Prigozhin”, said the Ministry of Defence yesterday.
In an intelligence update, it added: “There is a realistic possibility that the Kremlin no longer funds the group. If the Russian state no longer pays Wagner, the second most plausible paymasters are the Belarusian authorities.”
Such a situation would be a “significant and potentially unwelcome drain on modest Belarusian resources”.
It comes as Poland put an extra 10,000 troops on its border with Belarus amid worries about the threat from Russia and Belarus as well as illegal migration.
Poland’s defence minister Mariusz Blaszczak made the announcement at Jarylowka military camp near the border. He said it was a deterrent move, rejecting claims from Minsk and Moscow that it was a hostile act.
Mr Blaszczak said: “There is no doubt that the Belarus regime is cooperating with the Kremlin and that the attacks on the Polish border are intended to destabilise our country.”
Two Belarus military helicopters briefly entered Poland’s airspace last week.
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Mr Blaszczak said Belarus’ actions “pose a threat to our security” and Poland is building up its potential “to deter an aggressor”.
Tensions were visible in a closed Polish-Belarusian railway border crossing at Gobiaty, Poland, with the word Mir written in Cyrillic, meaning “Peace”.
Meanwhile, rehearsals continued for Polish Armed Forces Day in Warsaw tomorrow. More than 2,000 soldiers plus tanks and planes will take part.
