BELARUSIAN special forces are holding joint drills with Wagner forces at a firing range near the border city of Brest.
According to Wagner Chief Yevgeny Progozhin, the private military group would no longer take part in the Russia-Ukraine conflict for now but they will gather their strength before going to Africa.
Prigozhin said that their goal was to “make the Belarusian army the second strongest army in the world.”
The Wagner chief also released a video, his first public appearance since the mutiny.
In the video, Prigozhin can be heard saying that he and his men will stay in Belarus for some time, then they will move to Africa.
He was also heard criticizing the current situation on the battlefield.
Reports say that up to 10,000 fighters will end up in Belarus.
It can be remembered that in early July, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, suggested that Wagner forces could be used to defend Belarus, inviting the group to train the Belarusian military.
He also said he is not troubled to have a certain number of Wagner fighters stationed in the country.
Lukashenko is a long-time friend of Prigozhin and Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin who brokered a deal to end the mutiny.
The prospect of Wagners moving to Belarus made neighboring countries wary, particularly Ukraine and NATO-member Poland.
In response to the joint drills, NATO member-state Poland has redeployed its troops.
In a statement, Poland’s defense minister said that it was ready for “various scenarios as the situation develops.”
Earlier in July, Poland deployed hundreds of soldiers and vehicles to the border with Belarus, saying that it needs to prevent attempts to destabilize the region, with Warsaw’s 12 mechanized division saying that around 1,000 troops and 200 units of equipment will be stationed in the Eastern Province of Podlaskie located on the border with Belarus.
Belarus has made similar allegations against Poland, claiming that Minsk coup plotters are being trained in Poland.
Ukraine is also wary after satellite photos emerged suggesting that Belarus is building an army camp for Wagner fighters located at a former military base outside Osipovichi, a Belarusian town 230 kilometers north of the Ukrainian border.
It can be noted that the Wagner forces in Belarus are in line with the deal struck way back on the 24th of June.
Back then, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that members of the mercenary could either leave for Belarus, come under the command of the defense ministry, or go back to their families.
