This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
Military equipment and vehicles believed to belong to the private Wagner mercenary group continue to move to a site in the village of Tsel in eastern Belarus that is believed to be a site where troops from Yevgeny Prigozhin’s company have settled after its aborted mutiny in Russia last month.
Images from the Planet Labs service published on July 25 show at least 750 pieces of equipment and trucks of different types near the tent camp in what used to be a former garrison for members of a Belarusian missile brigade.
Since July 19, the amount of equipment and cars has been building steadily and now includes 62 tent-covered trucks, 534 minibuses, vans, SUVs, pickups, and regular cars, 33 buses of various types, 99 trucks, including some with platforms and construction equipment on them, and 26 trucks and armored vehicles used to transport military personnel.
The Belarusian Hajun Telegram channel that monitors the movement of military equipment in Belarus said on July 25 it had registered at least 11 columns of military vehicles and equipment most likely belonging to Wagner that had entered Belarus and moved to Tsel since July 11.
Last week, Prigozhin, Wagner’s founder and leader, appeared to be in Belarus in a video welcoming his fighters and saying they would help to turn the country’s army into the second-best in the world.
The fate of Prigozhin and his Wagner troops has been unclear since a short-lived mutiny on June 23-24, the biggest threat to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s 23 years in power.
The authoritarian ruler of Belarus and Putin’s close ally, Alyaksandr Lukashenka, was involved in talks ending the mutiny by agreeing with Prigozhin and Putin to host the Wagner troops, and their leader, in Belarus.
Days after the agreement, a tent camp began to appear in Tsel.
Wagner troops played a key role in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, helping take much of the town of Bakhmut after nearly 10 months of intense fighting. Prigozhin has said he lost 20,000 men during the Bakhmut operation.
