Exiled Wagner chief vows ‘you will soon see our next victories at the front’ as images emerge of the mercenaries’ new camp in Belarus
- The warlord’s comments are his first since his fighters exiled to Belarus
- Signs of a large camp being set up around 100 miles from the Ukrainian border have raised fears the mercenaries could mount an assault from the north
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the exiled leader of the Wagner group, has vowed his fighters will soon have ‘new victories’ as images emerged of mercenaries’ new camp in Belarus.
The warlord’s comments are his first since his fighters escaped prosecution and were offered refuge in Belarus last week after Minsk helped broker a deal to end what appeared to be an armed insurrection by the mercenary group.
‘Our march of justice was aimed at fighting traitors and mobilising society,’ Prigozhin said in a short audio message posted to the Wagner-affiliated Greyzone Telegram channel on Tuesday.
‘And I think that we succeeded in much of this. In the near future, I am sure that you will see our next victories at the front.’
Prigozhin gave no clue to his whereabouts, and the clip being an audio recording is a change from his typical video messages that had become his signature way of addressing his forces prior to their failed mutiny attempt on June 24.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the exiled leader of the Wagner group, has vowed his fighters will soon have ‘new victories’ as images emerged of mercenaries’ new camp in Belarus
These are the first pictures that have emerged of the Wagner mercenary army’s new base in Russia’s autocratic neighbour Belarus. Giant tents have been set up as barracks for the armed force that staged a revolt against Putin’s regime
Since the failed insurrection, Prigozhin – a once highly popular figure among Russians – has been all but erased from the public discord.
READ MORE: Putin tries to convince pro-Moscow world leaders he is still in control of Russia as he discusses Wagner’s failed mutiny
Russian state media, which once hailed him and his fighters for their brutal, hard-line campaign in Ukraine, have criticised him for his perceived betrayal of President Vladimir Putin.
Meanwhile, the first pictures have emerged of Wagner’s new base in Russia’s autocratic neighbour and only European ally Belarus.
Giant tents have been set up as barracks for the armed force that staged a revolt against Putin’s regime.
Pictures of the encampment Osipovichi district – which could be used to strike into Ukraine – came from Popular Politics YouTube channel linked to
The initial encampment holds up to 298 tents accommodating 30 people each, it was reported.
Estimates have said some 8,000 Wagner forces will be transferred to Belarus.
A report said: ‘The first group of Wagner mercenaries has already settled in Belarus and is practicing tank manoeuvres. Another camp is going to be built near Baranovichi.’
It comes after satellite images analysed by The Associated Press on Saturday also showed what a Belarusian guerrilla group and officials suggested was a base set to house fighters from the Wagner mercenary group.
The images provided by Planet Labs PLC suggest that dozens of tents were erected within the past two weeks at a former military base outside Osipovichi, a town 142 miles north of the Ukrainian border.
Pictures of the encampment Osipovichi district – which could be used to strike into Ukraine – came from Popular Politics YouTube channel linked to
A satellite photo taken on June 15 shows no sign of the rows of white and green structures that are clearly visible in a later image, dated June 30.
The appearance of the camp has raised fears that Wagner forces could be used to attack Ukraine from the north as Kyiv’s forces continue their counteroffensive – which is gaining ground in the south and east.
The day after the failed mutiny, Lord Dannatt, an ex-British Army chief of general staff, raised concerns of whether Prigozhin was being repositioned to lead an attack on Kyiv from Belarus.
Speaking to Sky News’ Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme, he said: ‘Apparently he’s left the stage to go to Belarus but is that the end of Prigozhin and the Wagner Group? The fact that he’s gone to Belarus is I think a matter of some concern.
‘What we don’t know, what we will discover in the next hours and days is… how many of his fighters have actually gone with him.
‘If he has gone to Belarus and has kept an effective fighting force around him, he then presents a threat again to the Ukrainian flank closest to Kyiv which is where all this began on February 24 last year.
‘Although it would appear that this matter is closed I think it is far from closed and the aftershocks will reverberate for quite some time.
‘They (Ukraine) need to watch that flank very carefully and make sure they have got some manoeuvre units such that they could repel a renewed attack from the direction of Belarus.’
Meanwhile, Wagner’s move to Belarus has led to ‘young women and girls’ living nearby in Mogilev region to flee the vicinity, according to one report.
Crimean Wind Telegram channel said ‘Young women and girls living near the location of the PMC Wagner detachments in the Mogilev region began to travel to relatives in other regions of Belarus for fear of being subjected to violence by Prigozhin’s militants.’
Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko brokered the deal that resulted in the arrival of Wagner troops in his country.
But their presence will leave him ‘trembling with fear’ because they are ‘extremely undesirable and dangerous’ to his regime, according to Valery Sakhashchyk, defence and security spokesman for the exiled Belarusian government-in-waiting.
This satellite image provided by Planet Labs PBC and taken on Friday, June 30, 2023, shows apparent recent construction of tents at a former military base outside the Belarusian town of Osipovichi, which reports suggest will house Wagner troops
This satellite image provided by Planet Labs PBC taken on Thursday, June 15, 2023, shows a former military base outside the Belarusian town of Osipovichi shows no signs of the structures that appeared two weeks later
A former commander of the Belarusian 38th Separate Guards Air Assault Brigade, he told the i newspaper that the overwhelming majority of his country’s forces were opposed to Wagner in the ex-Soviet state.
Wagner fighters comprise volunteer mercenaries or hardened criminals released from Russian jails – including rapists and murderers – promised freedom by Putin and Prigozhin if they fight long enough against Ukraine.
Some that have returned home to Russia have continued to commit crimes.
There was also mystery over Prigozhin’s whereabouts, Sakhashchyk said.
‘The whereabouts of Mr Prigozhin are unclear. The Wagner leader apparently arrived in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, last week after two his private planes touched down at a military airfield – but the jets then returned to Russia.’
Aliaksandr Azarau, leader of the anti-Lukashenko BYPOL guerrilla group of former military members, also told The Associated Press by phone on Thursday that construction of a site for Wagner mercenaries was underway near Osipovichi.
Speaking to the Ukrainska Pravda newspaper, Andriy Demchenko said Ukraine would strengthen its 1,084 kilometer (674 mile) border with Belarus in response.
Up to 8,000 fighters from Wagner’s private military force may be deployed in Belarus, a spokesperson for Ukraine´s border force told Ukrainian media Saturday.
Speaking to the Ukrainska Pravda newspaper, Andriy Demchenko said Ukraine would strengthen its 674 mile border with Belarus in response.
Lukashenko previously allowed the Kremlin to use Belarusian territory to send troops and weapons into Ukraine. He has also welcomed a continued Russian armed presence in Belarus, including joint military camps and exercises, as well as the deployment of some of Russia´s tactical nuclear weapons there.
Demchenko told Ukrainska Pravda on Saturday that as of this week, some 2,000 troops from regular Russian army units remained stationed in Belarus.
Employees remove the PMC Wagner Centre logos from their closed office in Saint Petersburg, on July 2, after the group’s failed mutiny a week earlier
At a Friday evening gala marking the Belarusian Independence Day, Lukashenko said that the Belarusian armed forces could benefit from training by Wagner members, and asserted that the mercenaries were ‘not a threat’ to Belarusians.
He also declared that he was ‘sure’ Belarus would not have to use the nuclear weapons deployed to its territory, and would not get directly involved in Moscow´s war against Ukraine.
‘The longer we live, the more we are convinced that (nuclear weapons) should be with us, in Belarus, in a safe place.
‘And I am sure that we will never have to use them while we have them, and the enemy shall never set foot on our soil,’ Lukashenko said.
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