According to information from Minsk, mercenaries from the Russian private army Wagner are now working as trainers for the Belarusian military. Meanwhile, Kremlin chief Putin said the mercenary force was “legally non-existent.”
Around three weeks after their failed uprising in Russia, fighters from the Wagner mercenary group began working as military “trainers” for the Belarusian armed forces, according to information from Minsk.
“Units of territorial defense troops are being trained near Assipovichi,” the Belarusian Defense Ministry said. “Fighters from the private military company Wagner act as instructors in a number of military disciplines.” Among other things, it is about “techniques for movement on the battlefield” and “tactical shooting”. The Ministry of Defense also published a video of exercises on the online platform YouTube.
Exile after aborted uprising
The Wagner group had played an important role in the Russian war of aggression against the Ukraine. Among other things, their fighters were on the front line in the bloody battle for the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, which Moscow reported taking over in May.
During their uprising on June 24, the Wagner mercenaries occupied the headquarters of the Russian army in the city of Rostov-on-Don in the south-west of the country and advanced towards Moscow. However, the rebellion ended on the evening of the same day with an agreement mediated by the Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko. It stipulated that Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin should go into exile in Belarus and, like the other rebellious mercenaries, should go unpunished.
Putin denies the legal existence of the troops
The current status of the Wagner group and the fate of Prigozhin are unclear. In an interview with the newspaper “Kommersant,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said when asked whether the group would continue as a separate combat unit, that it didn’t exist anyway. Because there is no legal basis for private military organizations in Russia. “She just doesn’t exist.” When asked, the Russian Presidential Office said there was no legal entity with the name Wagner. The legal status of such companies is a complicated matter that needs to be examined.
Putin has denied in the past that there are any links between his government and the Wagner Group. But after the mercenary uprising ended in June, he admitted that Yevgeny Prigozhin’s company had received billions in state funds. After the riot, he said an investigation was underway to see if any of the funds had been stolen.
Negotiations with “non-existent” army
Putin told the newspaper his version of the mercenary force’s revolt at the end of June and his talks with Prigozhin and Wagner commanders five days later. Among other things, he offered the troops to continue fighting under the previous command in Ukraine. “They could all have gathered in one place and continued their service,” Putin said. Many participants nodded at his suggestion, but Prigozhin rejected it.