Stand behind Ukrainian independent journalism when it’s needed most. Help us reach 20,000 members.

Skip to content
Edit post

Media: Wagner camps being built in Belarus

by Martin Fornusek June 26, 2023 7:06 PM 2 min read
Wagner Group mercenaries stand on the balcony of a building in Russia's Rostov, on June 24, 2023. The mercenary group's founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, claimed on June 24 that his forces control all military sites in the city. (Photo by ROMAN ROMOKHOV/AFP via Getty Images)
This audio is created with AI assistance

Camps for the Wagner mercenary group are being built on the territory of Belarus, the Russian independent news outlet Verstka wrote on June 26.

The outlet reported that a military camp for 8,000 fighters is being built near Asipovichy in Mogilev Oblast, roughly 200 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, with more camps to come.

According to Verstka’s sources, the workers were given tasks to build a camp with an area of 24,000 square meters “very quickly” under the orders of the authorities.

The news outlet also wrote that family members of Wagner contractors confirmed that the fighters are being deployed to Belarus.

On June 23, Wagner’s founder Yevgeny Prigozhin launched an armed rebellion against the Russian government. The mercenary group occupied Rostov, a major regional capital, and marched towards Moscow before unexpectedly ending the uprising late on June 24.

Following Prigozhin’s negotiations with Belarusian dictator Aleksandr Lukashenko that led to Wagner’s retreat, the Kremlin pledged to close the case against the mercenary boss who was set to leave for Belarus.

However, Prigozhin’s whereabouts can not be verified except for his departure from Rostov-on-Don on the evening of June 24.

Despite claims on Telegram channels that Prigozhin has been spotted in Belarus’s capital, Lukashenko’s press service wrote it has no information on whether the Wagner’s founder arrived in the country.

The Belarusian monitoring group Belaruskyi Gayun pointed out that Prigozhin’s planes so far remain in Russia.

Russia comes to the brink of civil war: How we got here and what it means
Visually, the scene was a familiar one. Russian armored vehicles emblazoned with the Z logo in the central streets of a once peaceful city, masked soldiers standing at key intersections, and confrontational conversations with bemused local civilians. But this wasn’t a Ukrainian city in the first da…

Independent journalism needs a community —
not a paywall.

We’re working hard to show the world the truth of Russia’s brutal war — and we’re keeping it free for everyone, because reliable information should be available to all.

Our goal: reach 20,000 members to prove independent journalism can survive without paywalls, billionaires, or compromise. Will you help us do it?

Can we reach 20,000 members?

News Feed

11:51 PM

Trump 'very surprised, disappointed' at Russian attacks on Ukraine amid peace talks.

"I've gotten to see things I was very surprised at. Rockets being shot into cities like Kyiv during a negotiation that was maybe very close to ending," Trump said during a news conference in the Oval Office. "All of a sudden rockets got shot into a couple of cities and people died. I saw thing I was surprised at and I don't like being surprised, so I'm very disappointed in that way."
5:10 PM

All territory will revert to Ukraine, predicts US diplomat.

The Kyiv Independent’s Chris York sits down with Michael Carpenter, former U.S. Ambassador to OSCE and senior director for Europe at the National Security Council, to discuss the current lagging U.S. military support for Ukraine amid the ongoing ceasefire talks with Russia. Carpenter also offers his predictions for the future of Ukraine’s occupied territories.
MORE NEWS

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Explaining Ukraine with Kate Tsurkan
* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.