A key member of the Belarusian opposition says the country may simply wield a mobile mercenary for Russia’s infamous Wagner Group, raising fears of a possible new wrinkle in Ukraine’s efforts to fight the nearly year-long invasion of the country through Russian forces and their allies. .
In an interview with Deutsche Welle, a German state media outlet, Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s security and defense representative, Valeriy Sakhashchyk, claimed that Belarusian state-backed security company Gardservis had “significantly increased” its number of workers in recent months, and may only be prepared to participate in army operations.
“Training and recruitment have been carried out for several months,” he told the outlet. “
Newsweek has reached out to the Belarusian for comment.
The company is the only one of its kind in the country that current leader Alexander Lukashenko, a close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has allowed weapons to own since he entered the scene in mid-2020, with a highly trained team. the government and its military.
The company has also come under foreign scrutiny through the U. S. Treasury Department. The U. S. government followed its role in cracking down on a series of protests against the Lukashenko regime in 2021, with federal officials imposing sanctions on Garservis and others “to fight the Lukashenko regime’s repression. “. “, corruption and lack of respect for human rights recognized throughout the world. “
Still, it turns out that things have heated up there. In recent weeks, Sakhashchyk says the company’s payroll has eclipsed more than 1,000 employees, all of whom have received combat operations education through Belarusian special forces officers at various Belarusian educational centers.
That said, the question of whether Belarus would enter the war remains open.
While the country relies heavily on its alliance with Russia, Lukashenko had in the past told Belarusian media that he would not institute a mobilization similar to the one declared through Russia on September 22, explicitly stating, “We will only fight when we have to. “protect our home, our land. “
However, Lukashenko has come under significant pressure to go to war, adding that he organized a Putin in December with the aim of drawing Belarusian forces into the conflict. Recent reports have indicated calls from Belarus encouraging male citizens to enlist in the army.
And in recent weeks, the country has begun receiving new arms shipments from Russia, raising fears that Belarus will soon play a more active role in the standoff by allowing Russian forces to enter Ukraine through its shared border with the country, prompting Ukrainian forces to gain a start fighting war games in the region.
Pentagon officials downplayed those considerations at a news conference this week.
“We know that Russians and Belarusians are going to exercise together,” a senior U. S. Defense Department official said. He told reporters at a briefing on Monday. “We see no indication that Belarus intends to participate in the conflict. exercising between Belarusians and Russians. “
Join newsletters from one million Newsweek readers