Polish minister says reinforcement at the border with Belarus is due to hostile rhetoric and actions

By RAFAL NIEDZIELSKI
Associated Press

JARYLOWKA, Poland (AP) — Poland’s defense minister says his country has increased the number of troops protecting its border with Belarus as a deterrent amid “destabilizing” actions by its pro-Russian neighbor. Mariusz Blaszczak met in Jarylowka, in eastern Poland, on Saturday with some of the troops recently deployed close to the Belarus border. He insisted that the increased military presence is purely a deterrent move, not a hostile act, as Minsk and Moscow are claiming. Blaszczak said this week that up to 10,000 Polish Army and Territorial Defense troops will be stationed on the border.