At least 32 Russian nationals believed to be members of the Kremlin-sponsored mercenary army Wagner Group held arrested in Belarus have been sent to Russia on Aug. 14.
According to Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office, the transfer was initiated by Moscow’s request “in full compliance with international law and national jurisdictions of the Russian Federation and the Belarusian Republic.”
One more individual also believed to be a Wagner mercenary of dual Russian-Belarusian citizenship remained in Belarus, the message says.
The transfer effectively terminates Ukraine’s hope of the mercenaries’ extradition for trial over their alleged role in Russia’s war in Donbas. As recently as on Aug. 5, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky in a phone conversation with President Aleksandr Lukashenko of Belarus directly sought handing the suspected militants over to Kyiv.
The transfer comes as Lukashenko continues facing nationwide mass protests against his recent re-election as the Belarusian president for the sixth term, with many in the country decrying the presidential elections as severely rigged and seeking Lukashenko’s resignation.
A total of 33 Russian nationals were arrested by Belarusian security agencies at a recreation facility outside of Minsk and in the country’s south on July 29.
The Belarusian authorities claimed that the arrested Russians were Wagner mercenaries who had arrived to destabilize the situation in the country amid complicated presidential elections campaign.
At least 14 individuals of the group were identified as former members of Russian-backed militant formations who had participated in hostilities against Ukraine in Donbas in 2014-2015. Presumably, after Donbas, they continued their mercenary careers with the Wagner Group, which, according to numerous investigations and assertions by Western authorities, is actively involved in various hotspots around the world, such as Syria, the Central African Republic, Sudan, or Libya.
The unofficial private military company associated with Russian oligarch Evgeniy Prigozhyn, who is very close to President Vladimir Putin of Russia, is said to be rendering warfighting, bodyguarding, or training services in exchange for lucrative natural resources extraction contracts for the Kremlin’s inner circle.
In other cases, the group upholds the Kremlin’s political interests acting beyond any legislative framework or any association with the Russian government, despite broad support from Russian military and secret services.
Any reasons behind the group’s presence in Minsk remained undisclosed.
Judging from the mercenaries’ belongings seen on the arrest’s video footage, they could be waiting for an upcoming transfer to one of their potential countries of deployment, such as Sudan, or Venezuela.
Just the day before the transfer on Aug. 13, two Russian military transport aircraft Tupolev Tu-134AK were discovered to have arrived in Minsk from Moscow, presumably sent to bring the released Wagner mercenaries back to Russia.
