Belarus’s Ministry of Defense said Friday that soldiers from Russia’s Wagner military company were training its security forces, offering a rare if vague sign of the group’s presence in the country after its failed uprising against Moscow last month.
President Putin asked Wagner to merge into the Russian military as a unit, but “Prigozhin rejected” the offer. Now Wagner is in Belarus, serving multiple purposes. They are training and modernizing the Belarusian military, while serving as the foreign legion of Belarus’ Russia-friendly government. They have also — if English-language Ukrainian media can be believed — freed up the contingent of Russian military forces deployed in Ukraine.
The mere presence of Russian forces in Belarus has caused the US/EU/NATO puppet government of Ukraine to divert vital resources away from the south and eastern front. Wagner can achieve the same goal while modernizing the Belarusian military; while also standing ready to deploy anywhere in Belarus to squash domestic uprisings or to halt foreign incursions.