The dismantling of the Wagner PMC camp continues in the village of Tsel near Osipovichi, as shown by satellite imagery. Since August 23, approximately 60 large military tents have been removed.
According to Belarusian Radio Svoboda, citing the Planet Labs service, at least 101 large military tents were dismantled within the first 23 days of August. In the following days until September 9, around 60 more tents, accommodating about a thousand people, were taken down.
The start of the Wagner camp's dismantling in the village of Tsel was captured in satellite imagery from August 1. So, since the beginning of August, at least 160 residential tents out of approximately 273 have been removed. This would account for around 3,000 spots for Wagner mercenaries, assuming an estimate of 20 people per tent.
The image shows that the tents were removed simultaneously from all parts of the camp. In the northern part, vehicles were relocated from the tent area to the parking area. The reason for this move is currently unknown. At the same time, the number of vehicles has not changed
After the leadership upheaval in the Wagner Private Military Company (PMC) led by Yevgeny Prigozhin at the end of June, the Kremlin announced the relocation of the mercenaries to Belarus.
On June 27, the self-proclaimed president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, confirmed the arrival of Yevgeny Prigozhin in the country. According to him, the Wagner mercenaries who arrived with him would not be guarding Russian tactical nuclear weapons deployed there. However, Lukashenko emphasized that he expected assistance from the mercenaries in defending Belarus. Still, he did not specify against whom Belarus intended to defend itself.
On June 29, a satellite detected the construction of a tent camp near Osipovichi in the Mogilev region of Belarus.
After the leader of the Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin, died, mercenaries began leaving Belarus. At the same time, in Russia, it was announced that the Wagner PMC would be disbanded, and individual mercenaries would be offered contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense.
"The Wagner Group will cease to exist. Fighters can either return to civilian life or sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense. This is an illegal armed formation. There should be no armed individuals in the state who are not subordinated to the state," said Russian State Duma deputy General Victor Sobolev.
