EXCLUSIVE: Polish Diplomat on the Concerns of the Wagner Group to Poland
INTERVIEW ON THE PRICE OF BUSINESS SHOW, MEDIA PARTNER OF THIS SITE.
Recently Kevin Price, Host of the nationally syndicated Price of Business Show, interviewed Poland’s Consul-General in New York, Adrian Kubicki.
Price and Kubicki discuss the growing threat of the Wagner Group to Poland as the group’s movements seem potentially threatening.A group of approximately one hundred soldiers allegedly associated with the Wagner group have been reported to have advanced closer to the city of Grodno in Belarus, near the border with Poland, as stated by Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on Saturday.Poland, a former member of the Warsaw Pact and a current member of the NATO military alliance, has expressed concerns about potential repercussions of conflicts spreading into its territory, particularly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.Earlier this month, Poland initiated the relocation of over 1,000 troops to its eastern regions due to escalating worries about the presence of Wagner fighters in Belarus, which could lead to heightened tensions along the Polish border.In a press conference held in Gliwice, western Poland, Morawiecki expressed his apprehensions, suggesting that the Wagner personnel might attempt to disguise themselves as Belarusian border guards to facilitate illegal migrant crossings into Polish territory and potentially destabilize the country.Nonetheless, Morawiecki did not disclose the source of his information regarding the Wagner movements, and the Belarusian opposition Hajun project, which monitors military activities in Belarus, claimed that they had not observed any evidence of the Wagner group’s proximity to Grodno.Grodno holds a strategically significant position near the Suwalki Gap, a strip of land that lies between Belarus (an ally of Russia) and the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, adjacent to the Polish-Lithuanian border.Earlier in July, Wagner’s leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, appeared in a video welcoming his fighters to Belarus. He stated that, for the time being, they would not be engaged in the conflict in Ukraine but would focus on gathering strength for their operations in Africa while assisting in training the Belarusian army.The following day, some Wagner fighters were seen at the training grounds of the 38th airborne assault brigade, located close to the city of Brest, just a few miles from the Polish border.The Wagner group’s relocation to Belarus was reportedly part of an agreement that ended their mutiny attempt in June. During the mutiny, they had taken control of a Russian military headquarters, marched towards Moscow, and posed a threat to Russia’s stability, as mentioned by President Vladimir Putin.
About Adrian:Adrian Kubicki was born in Toruń, Poland. He is a diplomat, sociologist, expert in public relations and communication, former journalist and spokesperson of LOT Polish Airlines. In August, 2019 he joined the Polish foreign service in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he received a consular title and was appointed to a four-year term as director of the Polish Cultural Institute in New York – part of Poland’s diplomatic mission to the U.S., specializing in the field of public diplomacy. In January 2020, he received an official nomination to become the new Consul-General of Poland in New York. In February 2020, he passed his hearing before a parliamentary commission, receiving the green light to take over the post in March, 2020.
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