Satellite images reveal Wagner group's "new home" in Belarus?

The New York Times (USA) reported on June 28 that satellite images revealed a possible location for Wagner soldiers in Belarus after the failed coup in Russia last weekend. Satellite images showed rapid construction at an abandoned military base in Belarus.

The construction traces were first seen in satellite images taken on June 26 by Planet Labs, two days after members of the Wagner private military group led by billionaire Yevgeny Prigozhin abruptly halted their march on the Russian capital Moscow.

As of June 27, images showed a 32,000-square-meter sports field in the fenced-off military facility that had been converted to a military facility, filled with at least six rows of what appeared to be temporary structures, like large tents. Satellite images also showed similar construction in open areas next to the field.

World - Satellite images reveal Wagner group's — Satellite imagery from Planet Labs reveals a possible location for Wagner troops in Belarus after a failed coup in Russia over the weekend. Photo: NY Times

The size, color, and layout of the structures are similar to other military tent complexes that have been built in Russia and Belarus since early 2022. The images appear blurry because they were taken by Planet Labs’ medium-resolution Dove satellites. The company’s higher-resolution satellites have so far been unable to capture clear images of the site since construction began.

The base is about 80 miles (nearly 130 km) from the Belarusian capital Minsk and about 13 miles (20 km) northwest of the town of Asipovichy, which houses several military facilities, including a training area and ammunition depot.

It was previously used by Belarus' 465th Missile Brigade, which was formed in 1988 and relocated near Asipovichy in 2018. The unit is the only Belarusian brigade to possess the Russian Iskander missile, according to William Alberque, a nuclear weapons expert for defense and security adviser at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). The Iskander missile is capable of carrying both nuclear and conventional warheads.

A satellite image also taken by Planet Labs from mid-June shows the field at the former base completely empty, with little to no activity in other areas of the former military base.

There has been no official word on where Wagner’s group is based in Belarus or when it will arrive, and it is unclear if or when it will leave Russia or the battlefield in Ukraine. Some Wagner members were also given the option to join the Russian military before July 1.

But an independent Russian news agency, Verstka, first reported on June 26 that the former base was home to Wagner fighters. According to Verstka’s sources, a barracks for 8,000 soldiers is being rapidly built near Asipovichy in the Mogilev region (about 200 km from the Ukrainian border), on government orders.

What the satellite images reveal also appears to match details given by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in a statement on June 27, in which he described where Wagner fighters might be stationed.

“We have provided them with one of the abandoned bases. There is a fence, everything is there, go ahead, set up tents,” Mr Lukashenko said. “We will help in any way we can . ”

Minh Duc (According to NY Times, Kyiv Independent)

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