Belarus shows off a military camp to host Russia's Wagner mercenaries, fighters yet to arrive at Belarusian military base

The Belarusian military on Friday showed off a field camp it has offered to Russia’s Wagner military contractor if it relocates to Belarus under a deal that ended its mutiny.

Maj. Gen. Leonid Kosinsky, an assistant to Belarus’ defence minister, told international reporters that Wagner troops could use the former Belarusian army camp near Tsel, about 90 kilometers (about 55 miles) southeast of Minsk.

Journalists were shown rows of empty tents that Kosinsky said could accommodate up to 5,000 troops at the camp in the Asipovichy district that was used by the Belarusian army before it was handed over to the territorial defence forces. 

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Representatives from the Wagner Private Military Company (PMC) have not yet arrived to inspect the campgrounds near the city of Osipovichi in Belarus’ Mogilev Region as a potential stationing location for its members, Belarusian Deputy Defense Minister Leonid Kasinsky told journalists.

"No, operations teams have not yet arrived to check it out and make up their mind. I think that when the Wagner group makes a final decision on its deployment in Belarus, then they will take a look," the military official said, commenting on the purported deployment of Wagner fighters in Belarus.

Kasinsky explained that "this is a training camp built in coordination with local authorities." "This camp was used to train both the military and representatives from the civilian administration within the framework of developing the territorial defense system," he added.