Wagner Group now training with Belarusian military

The Wagner mercenary group on Thursday launched weeklong training camps for Belarusian special forces. The instruction is taking place at a firing range three miles east of the Polish border. Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said Wednesday that he wants to work with Belarus to bolster its military in lieu of returning to Ukraine to fight for Russia. Prigozhin’s forces carried out a brief rebellion last month, marching toward Moscow to demand changes in military leadership.

How strong is the Wagner Group? It has lost 22,000 men in the conflict with Ukraine, while another 40,000 have been wounded, according to a post by the Wagner chief of staff. He stated that 10,000 troops were expected to go to Belarus, and 15,000 have gone on holiday. Roughly 78,000 mercenaries participated in the invasion of Ukraine.

Dig Deeper: Listen to Mary Richard talk with William Inboden on The World and Everything in It podcast about the brief Wagner rebellion against Russian military leaders.