Russian Mercenaries Arrested in Belarus:  Is Putin Intervening in Belarus?

As the conflict in Ukraine is apparently ending with a ceasefire after six years of war, it is interesting to note that in Belarus some 32 Russians who Belarus says are mercenaries, were recently arrested. The authorities in Minsk say that these 32 mercenaries belong to the Wagner Group which is a military contracting operation based in Russia, and is known for working in the interests of the Russian government.

The Wagner Group is perhaps best known for acting as proxies for Russian interests, specifically Russian government interests in multiple wars as they insert their sometimes anonymous troops, as “little green men,” into wars on behalf of Vladimir Putin’s government. These wars include the Donbass War in Ukraine, the Syrian Civil War, in which the Russian military intervened in 2014 and is still there, and in the current Civil War in Libya. In Libya,  there are 1,200 to 1,500 Wagner mercenaries operating on behalf of General Haftar who is a major player in the Libyan Civil War and has the support of the Russian government.

The question is, why would these mercenaries, if they truly are that, be in Belarus and why did the Belarusians arrest them? President Lukashenko of Belarus, is up for re-election on August 8. He believes that Vladimir Putin’s government in Russia prefers that he no longer serve as president of Belarus, therefore the assumption by Lukashenko that these Wagner Mercenaries in are in Belarus to cause trouble perhaps, to overthrow him, or align with local Belarusian opposition figures.

Belarus Map

The fact that this arrest happens literally only days after the war in Ukraine appears to  be winding down to a close is interesting, perhaps coincidental perhaps not. The Wagner Group is perhaps one of the best-known and largest of modern mercenary organizations operating throughout the world. For example the war in Yemen has seen the use of Latin American mercenaries employed by the United Arab Emirates (the UAE) which has intervened in that war. The war in Libya has seen Turkish intervention on the part of one Libyan faction, the one that is opposed to Haftar, who is supported by Russia,  and while that Turkish intervention has taken form in Turkish military personnel on the ground in Libya as well as the extensive use of  Turkish military drones in the fighting, Turkey has also brought in its own form of mercenary troops. The Turks have brought in several thousand Syrian fighters from the anti-Assad rebel groups that Turkey has supported in Syria to fight and in Libya.  Also there are reports that mercenaries are being hired from among Somali militia groups as well as from Sudan to fight in Libya. 

Of course, the American invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq  also featured the use of American military contractors- that’s the term used by the US government they don’t use the term mercenary, but in reality that’s what those contractors were- providing security and it times combat duty against various Iraq and Afghan forces in a counterinsurgency role, for the most part.

The fact that these Wagner mercenaries were arrested in Belarus or at least that the Belarusian government is openly accusing them of being fighters for the Wagner group, shows that Belarus takes the threat from Vladimir Putin’s government very seriously. This is a ongoing news story and we will report back on that as more information comes forward.