INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
MINSK: Satellite images analysed by the Associated Press on Saturday showed what appeared to be a newly built military-style camp in
Belarus, with statements from a Belarusian guerrilla group and officials suggesting it may be used to house fighters from the Wagner
mercenary group.The images provided by Planet Labs PLC suggest that dozens of tents have been erected within the past two weeks at a former
military base outside Osipovichi, a town 230 kilometers (142 miles) north of the Ukrainian border.A satellite photo taken on Jun
15 shows no sign of the rows of white and green structures that are clearly visible in a later image, dated June 30.Wagner chief Yevgeny
Prigozhin and his fighters escaped prosecution and were offered refuge in Belarus last week after Minsk helped broker a deal to end what
appeared to be an armed insurrection by the mercenary group.The abortive revolt saw Wagner troops capture a military headquarters in
southern Russia and march hundreds of kilometers (miles) towards Moscow, seemingly unimpeded.Belarus' authoritarian President Alexander
Lukashenko said his country, a close and dependent ally of Moscow, could use Wagner's experience and expertise, and announced that he had
former military members, told the Associated Press by phone on Thursday that construction of a site for Wagner mercenaries was underway near
Osipovichi.Up to 8,000 fighters from Wagner private military force may be deployed in Belarus, a spokesman for Ukraine's border force told
Speaking to the Ukrainska Pravda newspaper, Andriy Demchenko said that Ukraine would strengthen its 1,084 kilometre (674 mile) border with
Belarus as a response.Lukashenko has previously allowed the Kremlin to use Belarusian territory to send troops and weapons into Ukraine
He has also welcomed a continued Russian armed presence in Belarus, including joint military camps and exercises, as well as the deployment
of some of Russia's tactical nuclear weapons there.Demchenko told Ukrainska Pravda on Saturday that as of this week, some 2,000 troops from
regular Russian army units remained stationed in Belarus.At a gala evening Friday marking the Belarusian Independence Day, Lukashenko said
us, in Belarus, in a safe place
