Putin warns Poland: Any aggression against Belarus is an attack on Russia

(Patria) - President Vladimir Putin accused NATO member Poland of having territorial ambitions in the former Soviet Union and said that any aggression against Russia's neighbour and close ally Belarus would be considered an attack on Russia, Reuters reports.

Moscow will respond to any aggression against Belarus "with all the means at our disposal," Putin said at a meeting of his Security Council.

Warsaw's Security Committee decided on Wednesday to move military units to eastern Poland after members of the Russian mercenary force Wagner arrived in Belarus, the state news agency PAP quoted its secretary as saying on Friday.

Poland denies any territorial ambitions in Belarus.

In his address, Putin also stated that the western part of Poland is a gift from Soviet leader Joseph Stalin to the country and that Russia will remind Poles of that.

Apparently referring to that, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki tweeted on Friday evening that "Stalin was a war criminal, guilty of the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Poles. Historical truth is not debatable."

"The Ambassador of the Russian Federation will be summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," he added.
Belarus said on Thursday that Wagner mercenaries have begun training Belarusian special forces at a military range just a few kilometres from the Polish border.