Around 1,000 fighters from the Russian private Wagner Army are still said to be in Belarus. Their location is not chosen arbitrarily: the mercenaries once led by Yevgeny Prigozhin are near the Ukrainian border.
Ukraine will be forced to maintain defensive positions and personnel along its northern border with Belarus to protect itself from future incursions. It is unlikely that the Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko will use the remaining Wagner fighters beyond their current tasks and attack Ukraine. Russia swallows the Wagner Group: mercenaries are integrated into the National Guard. Other Wagner mercenaries switched to the regular army or left the service.