Up to 8,000 Wagner Group fighters could stay in Belarus – Ukrainian border guards

Ukrainian State Border Guard Service spokesperson Andrii Demchenko said this in a comment to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"The terrorist country continues to use the Republic of Belarus as a base for training its units and military aircraft flights. But in view of the new possible risks associated with Lukashenko's willingness to accommodate mercenaries from private military companies, Ukraine is bolstering its defenses in this direction. The development of the situation in Belarus is under control and is being constantly monitored. This issue, in particular, was considered at a meeting of the Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief," he said.

According to him, available information, including open-source information, indicates that Belarus is making efforts to accommodate Russian mercenaries.

"And given the support that Russia is providing to Belarus, the number of mercenaries that Lukashenko will be willing to accept can be quite significant. It can be about 8,000 people. For example, the current number of Russian soldiers from regular army units stationed in Belarus is about 2,000," Demchenko said.

According to him, although camps for Wagner Group fighters are being constructed at a considerable distance from Belarus' border with Ukraine, the very presence of mercenaries in Belarus will constitute an additional potential threat, primarily the one related to subversive activities and various kinds of provocations.

Therefore, in order to strengthen the border in this area, the Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief instructed the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the commander of the northern operational area to carry out the necessary set of measures. Demchenko said that units of the State Border Guard Service were well aware of the threats and, together with other elements of the Ukrainian Defense Forces, were in constant readiness to respond to possible provocations from the enemy.

He said that the situation at the border is entirely under control. "At the moment, we are not observing Russian offensive groups on Belarusian territory," he said.