NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that the transatlantic military alliance is prepared to defend itself against the threat from the Wagner mercenary force that is relocating to Belarus after a short-lived rebellion in Russia.
Wagner forces’ thunder run towards Moscow in protest against Russia’s military leadership last weekend ended in an amnesty deal with the Kremlin in which the mercenaries and their chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin, would relocate to neighboring Belarus.
While the status of Wagner’s redeployment in Belarus remains unclear, Prigozhin arrived in Minsk on Tuesday. Wagner forces’ expected relocation to Belarus has raised fears among NATO’s Eastern European members that having the mercenary force close to its borders poses a security risk.
“If Wagner deploys its serial killers in Belarus, all neighboring countries face even bigger danger of instability,” Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said Wednesday after a meeting in the Netherlands with NATO’s Stoltenberg and leaders from other NATO member countries.
Stoltenberg said Wednesday that it was too early to say what the Wagner presence in Belarus could mean for NATO allies but that the military alliance would protect every ally and every inch of NATO territory against threats from either Russia or neighboring Belarus.
“The mutiny by Wagner mercenaries ... is an internal matter for Russia,” Stoltenberg said, adding that the failed rebellion proves that Russia’s actions in Ukraine are “a big strategic mistake.”
“But we should not underestimate Russia,” Stoltenberg continued. “We must continue to support Ukraine, and we must keep our defenses strong to send a clear message to Moscow and Minsk that NATO will protect every inch of allied territory.”
‘Very Concerning’
Besides fighting some of the bloodiest battles in Ukraine in what the Kremlin calls a “special military operation,” Wagner forces have fought in Libya, Syria, the Central African Republic, and Mali, among others.In January, the United States designated Wagner as a transnational criminal organization responsible for widespread human rights abuses, with the Kremlin accusing Washington of having baselessly “demonized” the group.
Poland, which shares a border with Belarus, has expressed concern about the presence of Wagner forces in the country.
Polish President Andrzej Duda said Wednesday he hopes that the issue of Wagner’s presence in Belarus and the security threat that it apparently poses would be on the agenda at a summit of all 31 members in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 11-12.
“This is really serious and very concerning, and we have to make very strong decisions. It requires a very, very tough answer of NATO,” Duda said.
The NATO chief said that allies have already increased their military presence along NATO’s eastern flank in Europe and that more decisions will be made at the next summit about further bolstering the pact’s defense capabilities with more high-readiness forces.
In the wake of recent developments, several Baltic countries have expressed concerns about how Wagner’s redeployment to nearby Belarus would affect regional security and have urged the European Union to label Wagner a terrorist organization.
Wagner in Belarus
Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered Wagner forces the opportunity to go home to their families, relocate to Belarus, or be folded into the regular Russian army.Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has said those Wagner fighters who don’t want to fall under the command of the Russian Defense Ministry can stay in Belarus “for some time” at their own expense.
Lukashenko said he had offered them “an abandoned military unit” to set up camp and promised to “help with whatever we can.”
“We’re looking at it pragmatically—if their commanders come to us and help us, [we get their] experience,” Lukashenko said.
While it’s unclear where Wagner forces might deploy in Belarus, there have been reports in Russian media it could be in Osipovichi, a city 142 miles north of the border with Ukraine and around 50 miles away from Minsk.
Aliaksandr Azarau, leader of the Belarusian BYPOL guerrilla group of former military members, told The Associated Press that “we’re categorically against stationing Russian mercenaries in Belarus and are preparing a ‘warm’ welcome to Wagnerites in Belarus.”
Azarau said that construction had begun in Osipovichi for a Wagner site and that Belarusian soldiers were involved.
Satellite images of a nearby village of Tsel appear to show new facilities set up in recent days, suggesting the swift construction of a Wagner base.
Lukashenko has been a close ally to Russia in the Ukraine conflict, welcoming a continued Russian military presence in his country, including the deployment of some of Russia’s tactical nuclear weapons.
Wagner Background
The Wagner Group, officially known as PMC Wagner, or Wagner Private Military Company, is a Russian paramilitary organization first identified in 2014 when it backed pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.Amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Wagner forces have provided the Kremlin with key support, doing much of the heaviest fighting in the Donbas region and taking significant casualties in the fight for Bakhmut.
In the course of the conflict in Ukraine, however, the Wagner chief has feuded with Russia’s top military commanders, accusing them of starving Wagner forces of weapons and supplies and later alleging that they ordered air strikes against the mercenary group.
A culminating point was a June 23 accusation Prigozhin made in a post on his Telegram channel against Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who the Wagner chief accused of “destroying” his fighters and appeared to call for an armed mutiny.
Prigozhin, who has been a Putin ally for decades, later posted on his Telegram channel that there was no “coup” attempt but only a “march for justice.”
Wagner has enjoyed widespread support in Russia, where many see it as a paramilitary force that acts in support of Russian interests abroad.
