Yevgeny Prigozhin is in Belaurs with his army. This was stated by the country's President Alexander Lukashenko on Tuesday. The Wagner Group has been offered an abandoned military barracks to stay in. However, Lukashenko denies that special camps are currently being built for the Wagner soldiers, although he does not rule this out in the future.
He hopes that the Wagner Group will assist the country with "military expertise".
"We don't have to be afraid of Wagner, we keep a close eye on them. They will tell you about weapons: which ones worked well, which ones didn't," he said at a meeting with the military leadership on Tuesday.
Worries neighbouring countries
The Wagner Group's presence in Belarus has caused several neighbouring countries to react. Latvia and Lithuania are urging NATO to increase security on the alliance's eastern border as the risk of infiltration operations and sabotage has increased in the area. During the day, Polish President Andrzej Duda also expressed the wish that NATO step up security in the east.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said at a press conference in The Hague on Tuesday evening that NATO has strengthened its defenses in the area but that it is too early to say what the Wagner Group's move means.
New help package
"We have sent a clear message to Moscow and Minsk that NATO will protect every inch of its territory," Stoltenberg said.
He also says that this weekend's events in Russia show that there are clear divisions in Russia when it comes to the Ukraine war.
A White House spokesperson also said President Joe Biden had spoken with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and assured him of continued military support. On Tuesday, the Pentagon announced that it is providing a new aid package to Ukraine, worth about $500 million.