Wagner mercenaries to join GardService PMC in Belarus

Members of the Wagner Group PMC in Belarus have been offered to join the GardService Private Military Company (PMC), established by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

"All Wagnerites in Belarus unwilling to sign a contract with the Russian Defence Ministry and head to war in Ukraine were offered to join Lukashenko's GardService PMC, according to Ukrainska Pravda.

The latter is regularly trained at the former Dynamo special training centre in Marjina Horka in Minsk Oblast of Belarus.

GardService was founded by Lukashenko's decree in 2019 to counter the opposition in case of an "unfavourable political scenario" for Lukashenko.

Wagner is a private military company established by Yevgeny Prigozhin in 2014.

Although mercenary forces are illegal in Russia, Wagner registered as a "private military company" in 2022.

Prigozhin was a wealthy businessman and convicted criminal, known as "Putin's chef" because he provided catering for the Kremlin.

Wagner's first field commander was Dmitry Utkin, a former officer in Russia's special forces. He said the group was named after his radio call sign.

Most Wagner mercenaries initially came from Russia's elite regiments and special forces, and the group was thought to number about 5,000.

However, in 2022, Prigozhin recruited prisoners from Russian jails to fight for Wagner in Ukraine, in exchange for pardons. In June, he said there were 25,000 Wagner fighters.

The group has also been operating in Syria, Mali, the Central African Republic, Sudan and Libya.