Wagner fighters in Belarus, neighbors say

by Julia Shapero - 07/16/23 6:12 PM ET

Membes of the Wagner Group military company sit atop of a tank on a street in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, Saturday, June 24, 2023, prior to leaving an area at the headquarters of the Southern Military District. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Yevgeny Prigozhin's troops who joined him in the uprising will not face prosecution and those who did not will be offered contracts by the Defense Ministry. After the deal was reached Saturday, Prigozhin ordered his troops to halt their march on Moscow and retreat to field camps in Ukraine, where they have been fighting alongside Russian troops. (AP Photo) — Membes of the Wagner Group military company sit atop of a tank on a street in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, Saturday, June 24, 2023, prior to leaving an area at the headquarters of the Southern Military District. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Yevgeny Prigozhin’s troops who joined him in the uprising will not face prosecution and those who did not will be offered contracts by the Defense Ministry. After the deal was reached Saturday, Prigozhin ordered his troops to halt their march on Moscow and retreat to field camps in Ukraine, where they have been fighting alongside Russian troops. (AP Photo)

Wagner Group forces have moved into Belarus, following the Russian mercenaries’ short-lived rebellion against the Kremlin last month, according to Ukrainian and Polish officials.

Andriy Demchenko, a spokesman for the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, said in a Telegram post Saturday that the Wagner forces had been observed moving from Russia into Belarus.

Poland’s deputy minister coordinator of special services, Stanislaw Zaryn, also said Saturday that their latest intelligence suggested that the Russian mercenaries had arrived in Belarus.

“The extent of involvement of the Wagner Group on Belarusian soil remains unclear,” Zaryn said in a video posted to Twitter. “But one thing’s for sure — the Wagner Group is being deployed to Belarus to accomplish a mission of some kind.”

The Belarusian Defense Ministry shared a video Friday showing Wagner forces training Belarusian troops.

Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin launched the rebellion against Moscow late last month, calling for Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu’s ouster following months of criticism over how Russia’s military leadership was conducting the war in Ukraine.

He and his forces ultimately halted their advance on Moscow, after Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko negotiated a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Prigozhin and the troops who participated in the rebellion did not face charges and were allowed to leave Russia for neighboring Belarus.