Wagner mercenaries train Belarus special forces near Polish border
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[July 20, 2023]
By Guy Faulconbridge and Felix Light
MOSCOW (Reuters) -Mercenaries from Russia's Wagner Group have started to
train Belarusian special forces at a military range just a few miles
from the border with NATO-member Poland, the Belarusian defence ministry
said on Thursday.
Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was shown in a video on Wednesday
welcoming his fighters to Belarus, telling them they would take no
further part in the Ukraine war for now but ordering them to gather
their strength for Africa while they trained the Belarusian army.
"The armed forces of Belarus continue joint training with the fighters
of the Wagner PMC (Private Military Company)," the Belarusian defence
ministry said.
"During the week, special operations forces units together with
representatives of the Company will work out combat training tasks at
the Brest military range."
The range is just 3 miles (5 km) east of the Polish border.
Minsk posted pictures of masked Wagner instructors, their faces covered
in accordance with the mercenary group's rules, training Belarusian
soldiers with armoured vehicles and what appear to be drone controls.
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Poland, a former Warsaw Pact member which has been a full member of the
U.S.-led military alliance since 1999, began moving over 1,000 troops to
the east of the country earlier this month amid rising concern that
Wagner fighters in Belarus could lead to increased tension on its
border.
Poland's defence ministry said on Thursday that the country's borders
were secure and that it was ready for "various scenarios as the
situation develops".
Asked about Poland's move, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told
reporters: "Of course it is a cause for concern. The aggressiveness of
Poland is a reality.
"Such a hostile attitude towards Belarus and the Russian Federation
requires heightened attention (from our side)."
Wagner's failed June 23-24 mutiny has been interpreted by the West as a
challenge to President Vladimir Putin's rule that illustrates the
weakness of the 70-year-old Kremlin chief and the strain of the Ukraine
war on the Russian state.
Russia rejects that interpretation and says the Russian people have
rallied around Putin and the military.
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![](../images/072023PIX/news_a52.jpg)
A fighter from Russian Wagner mercenary
group conducts training for Belarusian soldiers on a range near the
town of Osipovichi, Belarus July 14, 2023 in this still image taken
from handout video. Voen Tv/Belarusian Defence Ministry/Handout via
REUTERS
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Jul/20/images/ads/current/bennet_lda_010722.png)
MERCENARY PLANS
A deal was struck on June 24 under which the mercenaries would move
to Belarus in return for charges against them being dropped. Putin
said the fighters could either leave for Belarus, come under the
command of the defence ministry or go back to their families.
Wagner has lost 22,000 of its men in the Ukraine war while 40,000
have been wounded and up to 10,000 fighters will end up in Belarus,
according to a post by a senior commander which was republished by
Wagner's Telegram channel.
Reuters could not confirm what looks like the most detailed
breakdown of Wagner numbers for several months. But if accurate they
give an insight into the extent of the losses both sides are
suffering in the Ukraine war - and of the continued strength of one
of the world's most battle-hardened mercenary forces.
The senior commander known by his nom de guerre "Marx", Wagner's
chief of staff, said in the post that a total of 78,000 Wagner men
had participated in what he cast as "the Ukrainian business trip",
49,000 of them prisoners.
Wagner helped Russia annex Crimea in 2014, fought Islamic State
militants in Syria, operated in the Central African Republic and
Mali and took the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut for Russia earlier this
year with considerable losses on both sides.
"Up to 10 thousand fighters have gone or will go to Belarus," he
said. "About 15 thousand have gone on holiday."
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The post contradicted remarks by a Russian lawmaker who said that as
many as 33,000 Wagner fighters had signed contracts with the defence
ministry.
"If all the dead and those who went on holiday signed up then I
suppose it is possible," Marx said.
(Reporting by Felix Light in Tbilisi and Guy Faulconbridge in Moscow
Editing by Andrew Osborn, Angus MacSwan, William Maclean)
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