Fighters from the Wagner mercenary group may be about to regroup en masse in Belarus, according to reports from the Associated Press and US analysts at the Institute for the Study of War. Satellite images show hundreds of large tents set up over the past week at a previously abandoned base in Asipovichy, about 150 miles north of the Ukrainian border, ISW said, adding that the militia forces will reportedly operate out of three field camps in Belarus.
(Bloomberg) — Fighters from the Wagner mercenary group may be about to regroup en masse in Belarus, according to reports from the Associated Press and US analysts at the Institute for the Study of War. Satellite images show hundreds of large tents set up over the past week at a previously abandoned base in Asipovichy, about 150 miles north of the Ukrainian border, ISW said, adding that the militia forces will reportedly operate out of three field camps in Belarus.
Ukrainian military commanders met Saturday at the Rivne nuclear power plant to assess possible threats to the site and hear a report on the operational situation on the Belarusian border, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Telegram. As many as 8,000 Wagner fighters may be deployed in Belarus, a Ukrainian border guard official told local media.
Zelenskiy repeated a warning that Russia plans what he called a “terrorist act” at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant to pressure Western allies to end the war on Kremlin terms. Russia is reducing its presence at the plant, and Ukrainian employees have been advised to leave, Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Directorate said in a report on Friday.
CIA Director William Burns called his Russian counterpart to say the US had no involvement in the failed mutiny by Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing officials familiar with the matter. The call with Sergei Naryshkin is believed to be the highest-level contact between the governments since the attempted uprising a week ago.
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