Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has again expressed concern about the presence of Russian Wagner mercenaries in neighboring Belarus, saying they pose a serious threat to the country's security.
Nauseda said it may prove "tempting" for those involved with the mercenaries to use the soldiers to create provocations against Lithuania, Poland, or Latvia, though he admitted there were no indications that such provocations were being prepared.
The comments were made during a visit to the Medininkai border crossing between Belarus and Lithuania, where Nausėda previously warned that Wagner mercenaries might pose as migrants to slip across the border into the EU.
Meanwhile, Russia's Wagner mercenary group has begun training mechanized units of the Belarusian military, the Belarusian Defense Ministry said on July 30.
"Training is being conducted to organize departments, platoons, and companies, taking into account the experience of the [Wagner] specialists," the ministry said.
Thousands of Wagner mercenaries have arrived in Belarus since the group's short-lived rebellion in Russia.
Wagner troops played a key role in Russia's invasion of Ukraine, helping take main parts of the town of Bakhmut after nearly 10 months of intense fighting.