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Wagner’s 'invaluable' experience could serve Belarusian servicemen well — Lukashenko

On the evening of June 23, several audio recordings were posted on PMC Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Telegram channel

MINSK, June 27. /TASS/. The commanding officers for the PMC Wagner Group have invaluable experience which could be shared with Belarusian servicemen, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Tuesday.

"If their commanders come here and help us <…>, share with us what is important today. <…> Both about tactics and weapons, about how to stage an offensive and organize defense. This is invaluable. This is what we should take from Wagner," the BelTA news agency quoted him as saying.

According to the Belarusian leader, there is a lot of speculation around the possible arrival of Wagner fighters in Belarus. "People don’t understand that we have a pragmatic approach to this," he added.

On the evening of June 23, several audio recordings were posted on PMC Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Telegram channel. In one in particular, he claimed that his units had been allegedly attacked, blaming Russia’s military leadership for the incident. In connection with these statements, the Federal Security Service (FSB) opened a criminal case over calls for an armed rebellion. The Defense Ministry dismissed the claims about alleged strikes on the "rear camps of the PMC Wagner" as false.

In his address to the nation on Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin described the PMC Wagner’s actions as treason.

Later, by agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko held talks with Prigozhin. The PMC Wagner’s convoys turned back and returned to their field camps. On Tuesday, the FSB’s public relations center said the criminal case had been dropped.