New photos show likely Wagner Group camps in Belarus
Journalists have shared photographs of military camps in Belarus, where mercenaries from Yevegny Prigozhin’s Wagner Group are likely to be housed.
Source: Sirena (Siren), an independent Russian news outlet focusing on the war in Ukraine; Belaruski Hajun, a Belarusian military monitoring group
Details: Sirena reported that the camps are being constructed in the Asipovičy district, in the southwest of Mahilioŭ Oblast.
According to Sirena, the pictures were taken by a local resident. They show M-30 tents with wooden bunks and floors. Each tent is designed to accommodate up to 60 persons and can be set up in under 30 minutes.
Quote from Belaruski Hajun: "Several days ago we counted around 298 tents on the satellite images of the camp in the village of Ceĺ near Asipovičy. Each tent can accommodate up to 30 people. Given the fact that some of the tents serve [non-residential] utility purposes, we can say that the camp can accommodate around 8,000 people.
We would also like to note that the photos confirm earlier reports that ‘bunk beds and toilets’, ‘wooden two-tier bunk beds’, ‘benches and tables’ were being constructed and tents were being set up in the village of Ceĺ."
Background:
- Russian media outlet Verstka reported that camps were being built in Belarus to house Wagner PMC militants after the agreement between Alexander Lukashenko and Yevgeny Prigozhin.
- The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine denied this information. The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine stressed that the intelligence service closely monitors the situation in Belarus, which is an ally of the Russian aggressor state.
- On 27 June, Alexander Lukashenko, self-proclaimed President of Belarus, said that Belarus was not building camps for the Wagner PMC but would "help with accommodation" if necessary.
- " We are not building any camps yet. But if they want to (I understand they are looking at certain areas), we will accommodate them. Put up tents, if you like. But for now, they are in Luhansk in their camps. We offered them one of the abandoned camps. They are welcome – the fence is there, and everything is in place. Put up your tents. We will help them as much as we can until they decide what to get up to," the Belarusian dictator said.
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