Wagner troops accommodated at Osipovichi military camp as they train Belarus forces

A former camp in Osipovichi which was revived into a newly built military-style defence base in Belarus as seen in the satellite images released by Planet Labs PBC is now being used to accommodate the Private military company PMC Wagner mercenaries as they arrived in the neighbouring country from Russia.

Dozens of tents were erected within the last few weeks at a former military base in the Belarusian town located approximately 230 kilometres (142 miles) north of the Ukrainian border amid speculation that PMC Wagner fighters will be housed in it. Aliaksandr Azarau, leader of the anti-Lukashenko BYPOL guerrilla group of former military members, had previously suggested that the camp may be used by the mercenaries from the Wagner paramilitary company. About 8,000 fighters from Wagner’s private military force may be [later] deployed in Belarus, Andriy Demchenko, spokesperson for Ukraine’s border force, told Ukrainska Pravda newspaper. 

The images provided by Planet Labs PLC suggest that dozens of tents were erected within the past two weeks at a former military base outside Osipovichi. Credit: Planet Labs/AP

Wagner fighters have been training the country's soldiers in the southeast of the capital approximately 90km (56 miles) southeast of the capital, Minsk, according to the visuals published by Belarusian Defense Ministry and Ukrainian and Polish officials. The camp, which can house about 5,000 soldiers, is being used for training military personnel as well as for setting up territorial defence systems.

Photo showing Wagner fighters training Belarusian soldiers at a base outside of Minsk. Credit: Belarusian Defense Ministry

Wagner fighters training Belarusian soldiers

TV channel run by the Belarusian Defence Ministry released footage of Wagner fighters training Belarusian soldiers near Osipovichi, in Mogilev Oblast. Some Wagner fighters have been in Belarus since at least Tuesday. 

The whereabouts of the Wagner mercenaries who organised a mutiny last month defiantly against the Russian military leadership has been shrouded in mystery. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko helped broker a deal to dismiss Wagner's brief uprising on June 23-24 as its fighters reached the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don in armoured vehicles and took control of Russia's Southern military command. As they prepared to march towards Moscow to topple Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, they shot down several Russian military helicopters, killing all the pilots.

On Saturday, July 15, the press service of the Belarusian Defense Ministry quoted Leonid Kasinsky, an aide to the Belarusian Defense Minister Lieutenant General Viktor Khrenin, and Chief of the Central Office of the Defense Ministry, last week saying that the representatives of the Russian private military company PMC Wagner hadn't arrived in Belarus. 

Credit: Belarusian Defense Ministry

Credit: Belarusian Defense Ministry

Credit: Belarusian Defense Ministry

Andriy Demchenko, a spokesman for the Ukrainian border agency, in a statement yesterday, said: "Wagner is in Belarus!" adding that the Ukrainian officials have been observing the movement of "separate groups" from Russia into the Belarusian territory. 

"The personnel, including instructors [of PMC Wagner], were primarily engaged in the professional training of the territorial defence forces of Belarus. Unfortunately, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation did not consider it necessary to adopt experience in our troops," read the update on Wagner-affiliated Telegram channel. 
 

Wagner assault units are drilling the skills of tactical shooting and movement on the battlefield for the Belarusian soldiers. In addition, the Belarusian reservists are also acquiring engineering and tactical medicine skills, according to the press service of the Defense Ministry of Belarus. Wagner mercenaries came into Belarus after the combat and training of another contingent--a joint "regional grouping of troops" with Russia--the Belarusian-Russian regional military force concluded, the representatives of the Defense Ministry told BelTA.

Credit: Belarusian Defense Ministry

Belarusian Defense Ministry said that it developed a roadmap with the Wagner Group’s management “for the near future for training and transfer of experience between units of different branches of the armed forces”. It added that the public would be kept informed “about the upcoming work” of the Belarus Wagner forces.