Wagner to enhance the Belarusian army's skills, top official says
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Belarus says Wagner is enhancing the skills of the Belarusian army by training them as training takes place near the Polish borders.
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A Belarus' Army soldier closes the gate of the Belarusian army camp near Tsel village, about 90 kilometers (about 55 miles) southeast of Minsk, Belarus, July 7, 2023 (AP)
The Belarusian Defense Ministry’s decision to involve Wagner private military company (PMC) fighters in training its army personnel aims to raise the interoperability and skills of the republic’s armed forces while ensuring its security, the Ministry’s press office said Thursday.
"All the decisions now made by the leadership of the Defense Ministry pursue one goal: to increase interoperability and skills of units of the armed forces in the interests of ensuring the Belarusian state’s military security," the statement reads.
"Amid the prevailing geopolitical situation, the real combat experience possessed by the Wagner PMC is an opportunity to continue pursuing the course undertaken by the Belarusian army towards its modernization, rearmament, and quick introduction of the experience of present-day military conflicts into the training program," Minsk underlined.
Moreover, the Belarusian Defense Ministry had underlined that Mink's special operations forces jointly with Wagner fighters would practice combat training missions at the Brestsky training ground near the borders with Poland.
The Belarusian Defense Ministry reported that Wagner fighters were involved in training the personnel of the republic’s Territorial Forces near Osipovichi in the Mogilev Region.
The Defense Ministry of Belarus announced last week that Wagner would take part in the training of its armed forces.
"After the arrival of representatives of PMC Wagner and their dispersal at the training grounds for training and mutual exchange of experience, special attention is planned to be paid to the methods and methods of conducting combat operations by the armed forces of Belarus," the ministry said in a statement.
On June 24, PMC Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin announced on his Telegram channel storming the Rostov-on-Don region and taking over the military headquarters in response to what he claims was a Russian attack on his troops earlier under the orders of the Defense Ministry, while the ministry rejected his accusations.
Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed in a speech following the armed mutiny that those responsible "will suffer inevitable punishment" and described Prigozhin's action as "treason" that was driven by "personal interests and excessive ambition."
"As President of Russia and Commander-in-Chief, as a citizen of Russia, I will do everything to defend the country, to protect the constitutional order, the lives, security, and freedom of citizens," he said then.
After talks with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who was acting at the behest of Putin, Prigozhin decided to put an end to the attempted armed mutiny.
