On August 26, the Wagner Group announced via Telegram that its mercenaries are operating exclusively in Belarus and Africa and are not engaged in combat alongside the Russian army in Ukraine.
In the statement, posted on a Wagner-affiliated Telegram channel, the group asserted that “there are no subordinates of the company either in Rosgvardia (Russia’s National Guard), the Russian Defense Ministry, or anywhere else.”
Official statement from Wagner Group confirming that nowadays are only operating in Africa and Belarus, and that there is no split of the group in the Ministry of Defense or the National Guard. They also confirm that they are not operating in Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/dFxNs1HBES
— Iván López (@FpAnalisis) August 26, 2024
The Wagner Group emphasized that its fighters are not participating in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “at this stage,” but added that any changes in this status will be publicly announced.
Wagner units played a crucial role in Russia’s capture of Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast in May 2023. It is estimated that nearly 20,000 Wagner mercenaries, many of whom were former convicts recruited in late 2022, lost their lives in the battle for the city.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, then-leader of Wagner, died in a mysterious plane crash on August 23, 2023, two months after leading a brief rebellion against the Kremlin. Following his death, Wagner units were reportedly integrated into official Russian military structures, such as Rosgvardia. The Chechen Akhmat unit claimed in October 2023 that a significant number of Wagner mercenaries had joined its ranks.
According to a U.K. Defense Ministry intelligence report on August 23, only about 5,000 Wagner troops are currently deployed in Africa and Belarus, a sharp decrease from the peak of 50,000 in 2023.
On August 25, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry warned that Belarus is “concentrating a significant number” of weapons and personnel at its border with Ukraine, including some former Wagner troops.
While Minsk, as Moscow’s closest ally, hosts Russian troops and missiles, it is not currently directly involved in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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