A significant convoy carrying fighters from the Wagner private army was spotted entering Belarus from Russia on Saturday morning, according to a report from the independent monitoring group Belaruski Hajun. The group, which tracks the movements of armed forces in Belarus, revealed that approximately 60 trucks, buses, and other large vehicles accompanied by Belarusian police crossed into the country. Although the group did not provide visual evidence, it stated that the vehicles had license plates from Russian-occupied areas in eastern Ukraine, where Wagner mercenaries had previously fought alongside Russian troops until a brief mutiny occurred last month. The convoy was observed heading towards a military base outside the town of Osipovichi, located 230 kilometers north of the Ukrainian border.
Belarusian President Welcomes Wagner’s Expertise
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko expressed his openness to utilizing Wagner’s experience and expertise during a recent announcement. Lukashenko offered the fighters an “abandoned military unit” to establish their camp. Soon after, a leader of an anti-Lukashenko guerrilla group informed The Associated Press that construction for the mercenaries’ site was underway near Osipovichi. Satellite images analyzed by the AP also revealed the existence of tent-like structures at the base, suggesting recent construction.
Wagner Fighters Arrive in Osipovichi
Ukraine’s Center for National Resistance, an arm of the Ukrainian defense ministry, reported that approximately 240 Wagner fighters, along with 40 trucks and a significant quantity of weapons, had arrived in the Osipovichi area. The source of this information was alleged members of Belarus’ underground anti-Lukashenko opposition, although independent verification was not possible. Moreover, Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service spokesperson, Andriy Demchenko, confirmed that “some groups” of Wagner fighters had been observed crossing from Russia into Belarus, according to an interview with Ukrainska Pravda newspaper.
Belarusian Defense Ministry Initiates Joint Training
The Belarusian Defense Ministry announced late Friday that it had developed a “road map” for joint training exercises between the country’s military personnel and the private mercenaries of Wagner. Earlier, the Defense Ministry had disclosed that Wagner fighters had already commenced training Belarusian soldiers. Footage aired on a television channel affiliated with the ministry depicted fighters wearing black masks instructing soldiers on shooting techniques and providing first aid.
The mutiny led by Wagner’s founder and leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, on June 23, caused significant unrest within Russia. Prigozhin ordered his fighters to abandon their camps in Ukraine and travel to Moscow to demand the removal of Russia’s defense minister and General Staff chief. In less than 24 hours, Wagner fighters successfully captured the military headquarters in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don before advancing to within approximately 200 kilometers of the Russian capital. Prigozhin had been criticizing the senior Russian military leadership for their incompetence in the war in Ukraine and the lack of ammunition for his troops.
Lukashenko intervened in the situation and brokered a deal between Prigozhin and the Kremlin. This agreement shielded Prigozhin and his men from prosecution, allowing Prigozhin to relocate to Belarus in exchange for ordering his mercenaries to return to their camps. In a recent interview with Russia’s Kommersant newspaper, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his intention to maintain Wagner as a unified fighting force under its current commander, while subtly diminishing the significance of Prigozhin. Putin’s remarks seemed to reflect the Kremlin’s efforts to secure the loyalty of the highly capable Russian forces deployed in Ukraine, which include the Wagner mercenaries.
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