Satellite images appear to show Wagner camp in Belarus being dismantled

Images of the Tsel military base appear to show the gradual dismantling of tents in the camp. PHOTO: REUTERS
Images of the Tsel military base appear to show the gradual dismantling of tents in the camp. PHOTO: REUTERS

LONDON - Satellite images of a military base south-east of the Belarus capital Minsk appear to show dismantling of tents in recent weeks, which may indicate the winding down of the base for Wagner, the Russian mercenary company behind an abortive mutiny.

On Aug 23, Wagner's boss Yevgeny Prigozhin and his top lieutenants were killed when a private jet he used crashed in so-far unexplained circumstances, leaving the fate of his mercenaries in doubt.

Images of the Tsel military base in Belarus’ Mogilev region, taken on July 25, Aug 25 and Sept 9 and provided by Earth imaging company Planet Labs, appear to show the gradual dismantling of tents in the camp.

Reuters could not verify the nature of the changes in the camp.

In June, the Wagner group launched a brief mutiny against the army top brass in Russia, condemned as treason by President Vladimir Putin.

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko invited Wagner to set up operations in his country as part of a deal that ended the mutiny. REUTERS

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