As of: February 4, 2024, 6:11 p.m
By: Nail Akkoyun
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The Russian Wagner militia is still present in Belarus.
Their presence could benefit Russia's war effort.
Minsk/London – Around 1,000 fighters from the Russian private Wagner Army are still said to be in Belarus.
British secret services assume this.
Their location is not chosen arbitrarily: the mercenaries once led by Yevgeny Prigozhin are said to be near the Ukrainian border in order to concentrate opposing forces there for the purpose of a possible attack.
“The continued presence of the Wagner mercenaries will almost certainly also benefit Russia’s war effort,” the British ministry wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Ukraine will be forced to maintain defensive positions and personnel along its northern border with Belarus to protect itself from future incursions.
However, it is unlikely that the Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko will use the remaining Wagner fighters beyond their current tasks and attack Ukraine.
In any case, such a move would not be the responsibility of Lukashenko, but of Putin or his generals.
An instructor from the mercenary army Wagner (m.) talking to Belarusian soldiers during a training session near Minsk.
(Archive photo) © Belarusian Defense Ministry/VoenTV/AP/dpa
Wagner Militia: There were once 8,000 mercenaries in Belarus
The Wagner mercenaries are currently almost certainly training Belarusian soldiers and security forces, the British Ministry of Defense said.
They would not be used for border protection tasks or the internal security of the former Soviet republic.
The militia came into the country in June 2023 after mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin failed in an uprising against the Russian military leadership.
Prigozhin died a few weeks later in a plane crash, the cause of which is still speculated to this day.
Originally, 8,000 private army fighters were in the country allied with Russia, it was said in London.
The British Ministry of Defense has been publishing daily information on the progress of the war since the start of the Ukraine War, which celebrated its second anniversary in February.
Moscow accuses London of disinformation.
The fact is, however, that the Wagner Group was repeatedly deployed in Ukraine.
The militia became particularly known for the months-long fighting around the small town of Bakhmut.
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Russia swallows the Wagner Group: mercenaries are integrated into the National Guard
At the beginning of February, British secret services also reported that Russia was further expanding its control over the Wagner mercenary group.
The Russian National Guard is integrating three of Wagner's former combat units into its first volunteer corps.
The British wrote on Platform
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a requirement on December 25 that the National Guard could set up its own volunteer troops, the British wrote.
The National Guard will probably use them in Ukraine or Africa.
Other Wagner mercenaries switched to the regular army or left the service.
(nak/dpa)