Belarusian Defense Ministry announces 'roadmap' with Wagner Group

The armed forces of Belarus and leaders of the Wagner mercenary company have agreed on a "roadmap" for future cooperation, the press service of the Belarusian Defense Ministry announced via Telegram on July 14.  

The Belarusian military and Wagner "have developed a roadmap for the near future on training and transfer of experience between units of different branches of the armed forces," the ministry confirmed.

Earlier today, the Belarusian military news channel VoenTV reported that Wagner mercenaries are training members of the Belarusian military on battlefield techniques.

Following Wagner commander Yevgeny Prigozhin's brief armed rebellion against Moscow on June 23-24, the Wagner Group was expected to relocate to Belarus. According to statements from Minsk, Prigozhin cut a deal with Belarusian dictator Aleksandr Lukashenko to withdraw troops from Russia, move to Belarus, and thereby escape criminal prosecution.

Since then, rumors have circulated of Wagner training camps along the country's southern border with Ukraine, though Minsk at first denied these claims.

In today's announcement, the Defense Ministry's press service acknowledged the many questions the department had received on the status of Wagner fighters in Belarus and promised to keep readers informed of ongoing developments in the military's cooperation with Wagner.

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