Thousands of Wagner troops flood into Belarus after tried coup
Thousands of Russia-linked Wagner Group mercenaries have arrived in Belarus over the previous month, a navy monitoring group mentioned.
A navy camp close to the village of Tsel, within the Asipovichy district, has seen the arrival of between 3,450 and three,650 mercenary troopers because the coup tried by Wagner troopers in late June, activist group Belaruski Hajun has claimed.
Satellite photos present that some 700 autos and development gear have additionally been delivered to the camp in Wagner convoys, the organisation mentioned.
This comes because it emerged that the group’s founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, registered a “real estate management company” in Belarus final week underneath the title Concord Management and Consulting.
Independent Belarusian news outlet, reform.by, confirmed that the registered handle for the corporate indicated by the warlord was situated in the identical village because the camp.
Tsel is situated some 230km north the Ukrainian border, and is believed to have been not too long ago visited by Mr Prigozhin.
Last week, a video seemingly showing the group leader chatting with members of his troops emerged – in what could be the primary footage of the person since he left the Russian metropolis of Rostov on June 24, because the tried coup fizzled out.
In the clip, Mr Prigozhin praised his troops for his or her work in Ukraine and urged them to coach Belarusian troopers earlier than Wagner’s subsequent enterprise within the African continent, the place it has operated for years.
The heavy presence of Wagner so near the Ukrainian border goals at placing psychological strain and intimidation on the Ukrainian inhabitants, Lieutenant General Serhii Naiev, commander of the joint forces of the Ukrainian Army, mentioned.
The paramilitary group, which was important within the months-long battle for Bakhmut, was welcomed to Belarus by the nation’s president Alexander Lukashenko, who brokered the deal that delivered to a fast finish Mr Prigozhin coup tried in opposition to the Russian defence management between June 23 and 24.
During a current assembly together with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, Mr Lukashenko mentioned he was struggling to restrain Wagner fighters from attacking Poland.
Lukashenko mentioned: “The Wagnerites are beginning to stretch us. I ask, ‘Why do you need to go to the West?’ [They say,] ‘We want to go on an excursion to Warsaw, to Rzeszow’.”
The Belarusian chief additionally added gasoline to Putin’s yet-to-be-proven declare Poland was searching for to invade Belarus as he introduced the Russian president with what he claimed to be a map of Warsaw’s plan to assault Belarus.
On Friday, Putin had warned any aggression in opposition to Minsk could be met by Russia with “all means at its disposal”.
While Mr Lukashenko and Putin have not supplied proof about Warsaw’s aggressivity in the direction of Minsk, Wagner mercenaries started holding coaching classes for Belarusian troops on the Bretsky coaching centre in western Belarus, about 10km from a border crossing with Poland, with many Poles close to the border reporting the sounds of gunshots and helicopters.