Moscow, 15 July 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Belarus's Ministry of Defence said Friday that soldiers with the Wagner mercenary group have arrived in the country from Russia and are training Belarusian forces.

The whereabouts of the fighters has been a matter of considerable speculation since the Russian government-funded group, led by warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin, staged a short-lived revolt against the leadership in Moscow last month.

Wagner troops have started work as instructors across a number of military disciplines at a camp in Osipovichi, about 100 kilometres south-east of the capital Minsk, the Belarusian Defence Ministry said.

The ministry released a video on its Telegram channel that purportedly showed men being trained on weapons at the camp. A presenter in the video said the Wagner fighters were imparting their combat experience to the Belarusian armed forces.

Belarusian soldiers are also shown expressing gratitude for the lessons in the clip.

Wagner played a major role in Russian President Vladimir Putin's assault on Ukraine. They often served alongside the regular Russian army and gained particular notoriety during the intense battles around the eastern city of Bakhmut.

But in a dramatic act of defiance against the Kremlin in June, Prigozhin had his mercenaries occupy the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and then sent military columns marching towards Moscow.

Prigozhin had called Russian military leadership corrupt and incompetent, and had complained for months of inadequate munitions supplies.

Putin described the revolt as "treason" at the time.

Shortly before his troops reached Moscow, Prigozhin ordered a retreat after negotiations with the Kremlin, in which Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko acted as mediator.

Lukashenko offered Wagner fighters sanctuary should they decline to serve in the Russian military, as offered by Putin after the rebellion.

What will happen to Prigozhin and his Wagner force has been debated by Kremlin watchers.

Prigozhin and dozens of his commanders had met with Putin in the Kremlin a few days after the mutiny, however the Russian leadership did not give any details on the outcome of the three-hour discussion.

Wagner has since handed over a large number of its weapons, ammunition and military equipment to the Russian Defence Ministry.
Putin had assured the mercenaries of immunity from prosecution and offered them contracts with the ministry. However, the majority of the members are reportedly still behind Prigozhin, who has gone into hiding.

In recent days, there had been speculation on social networks, given troop movements on the streets, that the Wagner army could be on its way to Belarus.

Photo: MIA archive