Linda Thomas-Greenfield said that the Wagner Group "is a threat to all of us and we want to ensure that the message is clear that any attack by the Wagner Group will be seen as an attack by the Russian government."
Justin Lane/PAP/EPA

“Any attack by the Wagner Group will be seen as an attack by the Russian government,” US Ambassador to the UN has said answering a question about concerns over the potential actions by Russian-linked mercenaries against Poland.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced on Saturday that over 100 Wagner fighters training in Belarus have moved closer towards the Polish border.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, US Ambassador to the UN, told a Monday press briefing that having seen the Wagner mercenaries hostile actions on the African continent, “we certainly worry” what they may do on behalf of the Russian government as they do not act independently of Moscow.

She said that the Wagner Group “is a threat to all of us and we want to ensure that the message is clear that any attack by the Wagner Group will be seen as an attack by the Russian government.”

Last week, the US State Department commented on the Wagner movements in Belarus and declared that the US would defend “every inch of Nato territory if the need arises.”