Russia stops funding Wagner Group mercenaries – UK intelligence
The Wagner mercenary group is saving on staff salary expenses at a time of financial pressure, the UK Defense Ministry wrote in its daily intelligence update.
Since the coup's attempt in June 2023, the Russian government has acted against some other business interests of Wagner owner Yevgeny Prigozhin. There is "a realistic possibility" that the Kremlin no longer funds the group.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 13 August 2023.
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As the Russian stops funding Wagner mercenaries, the second most plausible financial supporters are the Belarusian authorities, after Prigozhin's minions deployed in the state after the "Moscow raid."
Wagner could be a significant and "potentially unwelcome" drain on Belarusian resources.
Meanwhile, Belarussian authorities expressed their wish to "learn" Wagner's combat experience. They announced joint military exercises of the state's military with the group's militants at the Brest training ground near the border with Poland.
Anti-Lukashenka monitoring group "Belaruski Gayun" and Ukrainian border guards recorded the movement of columns of cars and trucks, presumably owned by Wagner mercenaries.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki had his word about the rise of Wagner's presence near the bordering Suwałki Gap. This territory connects the Baltic states with Poland and the rest of NATO and also separates the territory of the Russian Kaliningrad region and Belarus.
Meanwhile, self-proclaimed President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko "joked" about the plans of the Wagner troops to go "on tour" to Poland. Later he refuted the claims of aggression and stated he did not need the Suwałki Gap "for a thousand years."
