Russia's Wagner fighters are training soldiers in Belarus: ministry

Russia's Wagner fighters are training soldiers in Belarus: ministry

World

Russia's Wagner fighters are training soldiers in Belarus: ministry

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Fighters from Russia's Wagner mercenary group are training soldiers in Belarus, the Belarusian defence ministry said on Friday.

The ministry released a video showing Wagner fighters instructing Belarusian soldiers at a military range near the town of Osipovichi, about 90 km (56 miles) southeast of the capital Minsk.

"Wagner fighters acted as instructors in a number of military disciplines," the Belarusian defence ministry said.

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko helped broker a deal to end a brief armed mutiny by Wagner on June 23-24, when the group took control of the southern Russian city of Rostov and marched towards Moscow, shooting down a number of military helicopters and killing their pilots.

Under the deal, Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin stood down his mercenaries and agreed to move to Belarus in exchange for Russia dropping mutiny charges.

Prigozhin has not been seen in public since leaving Rostov on June 24.