Belarus authorities on July 29 arrested 33 Russian nationals who they say came to the country to “destabilize the situation” before the Aug. 9 presidential election.
According to Belarus, the men are members of the Wagner Group, a private military group, known for fighting on behalf of Russia in Syria, Libya and Sudan.
The group took an active part in Russia’s war against Ukraine, fighting on the side of Russian proxies in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region. Fourteen of the men arrested in Belarus fought against Ukrainian troops in 2014, according to the Belarus authorities.
Belarus state television alleged that Belarus law enforcement has been notified of the arrival of 200 militants “to destabilize the situation during the election campaign.”
Belarus presidential elections are scheduled for Aug. 9 and are already deemed unfair. Out of the three opposition candidates who had a chance to win over President Alexander Lukashenko who rules Belarus since 1994, two were imprisoned, one was forced to flee.
Read More: Belarus dictator Lukashenko seeks to crush dissent to him
On July 24, Lukashenko said that foreign militants would try to provoke a revolution in Belarus prior to the election.
Some military experts have alleged that Wagner militants tried to use Belarus as a stopover, as the country has fewer travel restrictions than neighboring Russia, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Belarus’ desk of Radio Free Europe has analyzed the video of the arrest showed on Belarus state television and alleged that the militants were heading to Sudan. The Northeast African state that went through a revolution in 2019 recently saw a spike in violence due to inter-communal fighting.
Russian military expert Semyon Pegov who runs a Telegram channel called WarGonzo, alleged that Belarus law enforcers were told by the Russian side that militants would use the country as a stopover.
Suspicious ‘Russian tourists’
Belarus state television has reported that 32 militants were arrested near Minsk at a recreation center where they stayed. According to the report, they stood out among other Russian tourists – wore matching camouflage, didn’t interact with other residents, and didn’t drink.
One more militant from the group was arrested separately. They weren’t armed.
Belarus authorities published the names of those detained. Several of those names have been previously mentioned as active Russian mercenaries employed by the so-called Wagner Group to perform undercover foreign military operations.
Russian independent media have alleged that Wagner is financed by Yevgeny Prigozhin, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Prigozhin faces economic sanctions and criminal charges in the United States. He is suspected of coordinating Russian attempts to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential elections.
Wagner Group has been linked to multiple international conflicts. Wagner took an active part in the Syrian Civil War on the side of Syrian Dictator Bashar Al Assad.
In February 2018, Wagner corporation took part in the Battle of Khasham, where the Russian private troops fought the U.S. Armed Forces. The U.S. air strikes killed at least 14 militants that allegedly were members of Wagner.
Besides Syria, Wagner troops took part in the Islamist insurgency in Mozambique, Libyan Civil War and the Sudanese Revolution.
In the video published by Belarus state television, which showed the militants being arrested on July 29, Belarusian journalists spotted Sudanese pounds and a phone card depicting a Khatmiyya mosque in Sudanese town Kassala.
The journalists alleged that the militants were heading to Sudan.
Donbas militants
However, Wagner Group is best known for taking an active part in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
In 2014, Russia invaded Crimea and used proxies to initiate a war in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region. 13 men arrested in Belarus took an active part in Russia’s military operations in Donbas, according to the Myrotvorets website.
Myrotvorets is a popular yet controversial anonymous website that claims to be a database of enemies of Ukraine.
According to Myrotvorets, members of Wagner Group detained in Belarus fought Ukrainian troops in Slovyansk, Donetsk, Ilovyask and Debaltseve in 2014 and 2015.
Those individuals who are wanted on terrorism charges in Ukraine are Andrey Bakunovich, Fedor Sergeev, Andrey Serdukov, Andrey Tokarev, Igor Shalomentsev, Renat Karimov, Aleksandr Rudenko, Denis Kharitonov, Tahir Bakhtigaraev, Sergey Sherbakov and Oleg Driga, Maksim Koshman and Gennady Fetisov.
According to Myrotvorets, Fetisov served in Ukraine’s Berkut riot police which brutally attacked protesters during the 2013-2014 EuroMaidan Revolution. Now he’s a Russian citizen, with his Russian passport shown on Belarus state television.
Berkut riot police were disbanded soon after the revolution succeeded in ousting the pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych.
