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The construction of a new base for Wagner Group fighters may be underway in Belarus, a U.S.-based think tank has said.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in its latest update on Russia's war in Ukraine Thursday that satellite imagery collected between June 15 and 27 shows new activity at an abandoned Belarusian military base near the town of Asipovichy, about 50 miles from Minsk.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, chief of the Wagner Group, was exiled to Belarus in a deal brokered by the country's leader Alexander Lukashenko following a mutiny attempt on June 24. Prigozhin. The Wagner Group was offered "an absolutely profitable and acceptable option for resolving the situation, with security guarantees for the fighters," Lukashenko's press service said.
The ISW said recent activity at the Belarusian military base—formerly used by the Belarusian 465th Missile Brigade— could be construction for a rumored new Wagner Group base.
"This site is within [10 miles] of a large Belarusian combined arms training ground — a facility that Wagner Group personnel would need to access to service the Belarusian military in a training and advisory role that Belarusian officials have suggested Wagner will fulfill," the think tank said.
Russian opposition outlet Verstka reported on June 26 that Belarusian authorities are constructing "several camps" for 8,000 Wagner Group fighters near Asipovichy in the Mogilev region. The outlet interviewed relatives of Wagner Group members who said that the men will be sent to Belarus.
The ISW said that Wagner Group personnel may, however, deploy elsewhere in Belarus.
"There is nothing particularly unique or interesting about a potential Wagner Group base in Asipovichy," the think tank said, noting that Verstka's original report indicated that the paramilitary outfit would have several camps in the country.
"Belarus hosts many training grounds and field camps that accommodated 30,000 Russian soldiers in early 2022—many of which were on the border with Ukraine in Gomel and Brest oblasts," the ISW said.
"The Wagner Group in Belarus could use some of these facilities as bases as well as or instead of the rumored base in Asipovichy."
Prigozhin's attempted rebellion came amid an intensifying spat between the Wagner Group boss and Russia's military leadership. Prigozhin recently shut down a demand from Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Putin that the Wagner Group sign contracts directly with the Defense Ministry with a July 1 deadline.
According to Andrey Kartapolov, head of the Russian State Duma's defense committee, Prigozhin's fighters will not be able to take part in fighting in Ukraine without signing a contract with Ministry of Defense.
The Wagner Group however still appears to be recruiting people to fight in Ukraine. Russia's state-run news agency Tass reported that the recruitment of fighters had resumed at Wagner centers in the cities of Tyumen and Novosibirsk.
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About the writer
Isabel van Brugen is a Newsweek Reporter based in Kuala Lumpur. Her focus is reporting on the Russia-Ukraine war. Isabel ... Read more