Satellite tv for pc imagery analyzed by The New York Occasions confirmed elevated exercise this weekend at a navy discipline camp in Belarus, together with the arrival of automobiles that resemble these utilized by the Russian Wagner mercenary group.
Greater than a dozen automobiles, together with giant civilian vehicles, vans and vehicles, arrived on Saturday and Sunday on the former navy base in Osipovichi, about 80 kilometers southeast of the capital Minsk. Automobiles of the identical kind not too long ago seen in giant convoys, some flying Wagner flags.
The whereabouts of the Wagner mercenaries have remained a thriller ever since a gaggle that fought in Ukraine on the Russian aspect launched an rebellion in opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin final month. To place an finish to the short-lived rebellion, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko brokered a deal that will grant secure haven to the mercenaries in Belarus.
Satellite tv for pc photos don’t conclusively show that Wagner’s forces are within the camp, however do statements Allies of Ukraine that some Wagner troops reached Belarus. The UK Ministry of Protection mentioned on Sunday that “a minimum of a small contingent of Wagner fighters has arrived on the camp in Belarus”, though it didn’t specify the situation of the camp. On Saturday, a Polish official mentioned Wagner fighters had arrived in Belarus.
After the Wagner rise up was stopped, exercise broke out on the former base close to Osipovichi, and by the tip of June a discipline camp with greater than 300 giant navy tents stood on the location. However for the previous two weeks, the camp had remained nearly empty, so it was unclear whether or not the troops would truly transfer there.
The brand new photos present a transparent surge in exercise. A satellite tv for pc picture taken on Sunday exhibits quite a few vehicles and probably buses close to the camp’s garages, the place no giant automobiles was.
A number of pickup vehicles, navy automobiles and what seemed to be a boxy Soviet-era minivan often called a bukhanka is also seen close to the tents, in addition to a small group of individuals.
The primary truck appeared on satellite tv for pc imagery on the camp on Thursday afternoon. On Saturday, a picture from geospatial intelligence firm BlackSky exhibits the arrival of latest vehicles and different automobiles. Extra vehicles arrived on Sunday.
Movies posted to Telegram on Saturday and Sunday of lengthy columns of pickups, minivans and vehicles appeared to point that Wagner’s troops have been on the transfer. In a single video, filmed on a freeway south of the Russian metropolis of Vorensee, vehicles carried Russian and Wagner flags. One other video confirmed two Belarusian police vehicles in a convoy, suggesting that the vehicles have been driving by Belarus. The vehicles proven within the numerous movies have license plates from Russia or Russian-controlled areas in jap Ukraine.
The video exhibits that a number of columns have been transferring alongside the highway, every of which consisted of dozens of vehicles. As of Sunday morning, regardless of quite a few footage of the bottom that day, the overwhelming majority of those automobiles weren’t seen within the Osipovichi camp. It was not attainable to find out whether or not they have been within the camp garages.
