Poland to send 2,000 troops to reinforce Belarus border

FILE PHOTO: Polish Deputy Interior Minister Maciej Wasik speaks to the media at the construction site of a barrier at the border between Poland and Belarus, in Tolcze near Kuznica, Poland, February 16, 2022. Grzegorz DabrowskiAgencja Wyborcza.pl via REUTERS/File Photo

WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland will send 2,000 troops to its frontier with Belarus, the deputy interior minister told state-run news agency PAP on Wednesday, twice the number requested by the Border Guard, to stem illegal crossings and maintain stability.

Poland has worried increasingly about the border area since hundreds of battle-hardened Wagner mercenaries arrived in Belarus last month at the invitation of President Alexander Lukashenko.