See the military camp in Belarus meant to host Russia’s Wagner forces

Journalists examine the Belarusian military on July 7, 2023. (Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP)

The Belarusian military camp is near Tsel village, about 90 kilometers (about 56 miles) southeast of Minsk, Belarus. (Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP)

Maj. Gen. Leonid Kosinsky speaks to journalists in the Belarusian camp. The officer is an assistant to the country's defense minister. (Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP)

An indoor view of a tent in the camp, seen July 7, 2023. (Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP)

A view of the Belarusian camp on July 7, 2023. (Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP)

Gen. Leonid Kosinsky, an assistant to Belarus' defense minister, said that Russia's Wagner military contractor could use the camp near Tsel if it relocates to Belarus under a deal that ended mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin's abortive mutiny. (Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP)

The Belarusian military camp is southeast of Minsk, Belarus. (Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP)

NEAR TSEL, Belarus — The Belarusian military on Friday showed off a field camp it has offered to Russia’s Wagner military contractor if it relocates to Belarus under a deal that ended its mutiny.

Maj. Gen. Leonid Kosinsky, an assistant to Belarus’ defense minister, told international reporters that Wagner troops could use the former Belarusian military camp near Tsel, about 90 kilometers (about 56 miles) southeast of Minsk.

Journalists were shown rows of empty tents that Kosinsky said could accommodate up to 5,000 troops at the camp in the Asipovichy district that was used by the Belarusian military before it was handed over to the territorial defense forces.

Kosinsky said Wagner representatives haven’t yet inspected the camp to see whether it meets their needs. “When the Wagner Group makes a final decision on whether to deploy to Belarus or not, they will see where and how to deploy,” he told reporters.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Thursday that mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is in Russia and his troops so far have remained at their home camps, raising questions about the deal that ended the extraordinary challenge to President Vladimir Putin’s rule.

Much about the the agreement, which was brokered by Lukashenko, remains murky, and it was not clear if the Wagner chief’s presence in Russia would violate the deal, which allowed Prigozhin and his mercenaries to move to Belarus in exchange for ending the rebellion and a promise of amnesty.

Lukashenko’s claim could not be independently verified, but Russian media have reported Prigozhin was recently seen at his offices in Russia’s second-largest city, St. Petersburg. Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Friday again shrugged off questions about Prigozhin’s whereabouts and refused to comment on whether his presence in Russia would violate the deal.

The Belarusian president dismissed suggestions that the mercenaries could attack Ukraine from Belarusian territory, which Russian troops used as a staging ground ahead of their invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

During their revolt that lasted less than 24 hours, Prigozhin’s mercenaries quickly swept through the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and captured the military headquarters there without firing a shot before driving to within about 200 kilometers of the Russian capital. Prigozhin described it as a “march of justice” to oust his longtime foes — Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and the chief of the military’s general staff, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, whose handling of the war in Ukraine.

The Wagner fighters faced little resistance and downed at least six military helicopters and a command post aircraft, killing at least 10 airmen. When the deal was struck, the Wagner chief ordered his troops to return to their camps.

The abortive rebellion represented the biggest threat to Putin in his more than two decades in power, exposing his weakness and eroding the Kremlin’s authority.

2023年7月7日，记者们考察白俄罗斯军队。（Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP）

这个白俄罗斯军营位于白俄罗斯明斯克东南约90公里（约56英里）的采尔村附近。（亚历山大·泽姆利亚尼琴科/美联社）

列昂尼德·科辛斯基少将在白俄罗斯军营接受记者采访。他是该国国防部长的助理。（亚历山大·泽姆利亚尼琴科/美联社）

2023年7月7日拍摄的营地帐篷内部照片。（Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP）

2023年7月7日，白俄罗斯难民营的景象。（Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP）

白俄罗斯国防部长助理列昂尼德·科辛斯基将军表示，如果俄罗斯瓦格纳军事承包商根据一项结束雇佣兵头目叶夫根尼·普里戈任未遂叛乱的协议迁往白俄罗斯，那么该公司可以使用位于采尔附近的营地。（亚历山大·泽姆利亚尼琴科/美联社）

该白俄罗斯军营位于白俄罗斯首都明斯克东南方向。（Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP）

白俄罗斯特塞尔附近——白俄罗斯军方周五展示了一个野战营地，并表示如果俄罗斯瓦格纳军事承包商根据结束兵变的协议迁往白俄罗斯，军方将向其提供该营地。

白俄罗斯国防部长助理列昂尼德·科辛斯基少将告诉国际记者，瓦格纳部队可以使用位于明斯克东南约 90 公里（约 56 英里）的采尔附近的前白俄罗斯军事营地。

科辛斯基向记者们展示了一排排空帐篷，他说这些帐篷位于阿西波维奇区的一个营地，最多可容纳 5000 名士兵。该营地以前是白俄罗斯军队使用的，后来移交给了地方防卫部队。

科辛斯基表示，瓦格纳集团的代表尚未考察该营地，以确定其是否符合他们的需求。“瓦格纳集团最终决定是否向白俄罗斯部署兵力时，他们会考虑部署地点和方式，”他告诉记者。

白俄罗斯总统亚历山大·卢卡申科周四表示，雇佣兵头目叶夫根尼·普里戈任目前身在俄罗斯，他的部队至今仍留在各自的营地中，这引发了人们对结束对俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京统治的非凡挑战的协议的质疑。

这项由卢卡申科斡旋达成的协议，其内容仍有很多不明之处，瓦格纳集团头目普里戈任在俄罗斯的存在是否会违反该协议也尚不清楚。该协议允许普里戈任及其雇佣兵前往白俄罗斯，以换取结束叛乱和特赦的承诺。

卢卡申科的说法无法得到独立证实，但俄罗斯媒体报道称，普里戈任最近出现在俄罗斯第二大城市圣彼得堡的办公室。普京发言人德米特里·佩斯科夫周五再次回避了有关普里戈任行踪的问题，并拒绝就他身在俄罗斯是否会违反协议发表评论。

白俄罗斯总统驳斥了雇佣兵可能从白俄罗斯领土袭击乌克兰的说法，俄罗斯军队曾在2022年2月入侵乌克兰之前将白俄罗斯用作集结地。

在持续不到24小时的叛乱中，普里戈任的雇佣兵迅速席卷了俄罗斯南部城市顿河畔罗斯托夫，兵不血刃地占领了当地的军事总部，随后一路推进到距离俄罗斯首都约200公里处。普里戈任将此次叛乱描述为一场“正义的进军”，旨在推翻他长期的政敌——俄罗斯国防部长谢尔盖·绍伊古和总参谋长瓦列里·格拉西莫夫将军，后者因在乌克兰战争中的不当处理而备受诟病。

瓦格纳的战斗机几乎没有遇到抵抗，击落了至少六架军用直升机和一架指挥机，造成至少十名飞行员丧生。协议达成后，瓦格纳的头目命令他的部队返回营地。

这场失败的叛乱是普京执政二十多年来面临的最大威胁，暴露了他的弱点，削弱了克里姆林宫的权威。