Warsaw: In order to stop "attempts to destabilise" the area, Poland will send hundreds of soldiers and vehicles to its border with Belarus, according to its military. Similar accusations have been made by Minsk, which asserts that plotters for a Belarusian coup are being trained on Polish soil.

The operation was announced on Friday by the Polish Land Forces' 12th Mechanised Division in Warsaw. Near the Belarusian border in the eastern province of Podlasie, about 1,000 soldiers and 200 pieces of equipment will be stationed over the next few days. 

The goal of Operation "Safe Podlasie" is to "demonstrate our willingness and capacity to react promptly to attempts to destabilise the situation at our border," according to the division.

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Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak appeared to mention the operation earlier on Friday, despite the military providing few details about the mission. In an interview with a local news source, Mariusz stated that Warsaw is attempting to "deter a potential aggressor" and vowed to "respond to all these threats." He continued, without going into further detail, by asserting that Poland had been "attacked in a hybrid way from the territory of Belarus" two years prior. 

Over 175,000 soldiers are already enlisted in the Polish Army. Thank you so much for the large number of volunteers for the Polish Army. Poland's safety is crucial, the minister continued.

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Poland, a close ally of Moscow, has also been accused by Minsk of hosting exiled Belarusians who are allegedly preparing for an uprising in their own country. The government has claimed that it is closely monitoring the militants and that they are also housed in training facilities in the Czech Republic, Ukraine, Latvia, and Lithuania.

We are aware of specific recruitment positions and those involved. We are aware of the training facilities, the names of the instructors, and who is in charge of teaching which courses, according to Ivan Tertel, the security chief for Belarus, in April.

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Last month, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko spoke with Russian state television, warning of potential attacks from the territory of Poland, Ukraine, or any of the Baltic states. He explained that Minsk would join the conflict in Ukraine "if aggression is committed against us."