3) One report said the Russian troops started firing in the Wagner group... but Wagner has been pissed for months now, claiming they're having the most success, and not getting the resources to continue it, they finally snapped risking their lives and not getting the resources they need.
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Originally Posted by: beast 

Ukraine Boosts Defenses In North As Satellite Images Show Likely Wagner Base In Belarus

BY TYLER DURDEN   SATURDAY, JUL 01, 2023 - 09:55 AM

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has ordered his armed forces to bolster defenses in the northern sector of the country near Belarus, days after Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was exiled there after leading a mutiny.

"The decision … is for Commander-in-Chief [Valeriy] Zaluzhnyi and North commander [Serhiy] Naev to implement a set of measures to strengthen this direction," Zelensky announced on Telegram.
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He said Kiev held an urgent national security meeting concerning the situation in Belarus, which lies just to the north of Ukraine, and early in the conflict had been a staging ground for Russian forces.

Prigozhin reportedly arrived in Minsk on a private jet on Tuesday, which was confirmed by President Alexander Lukashenko. The Belarusian leader had helped mediate a deal which resolved the internal Russian crisis peacefully, but which Washington has claimed left Putin "weakened". 

Putin in a speech earlier this week indicated he would stick by the deal made which allows Wagner mercenaries to sign contracts with the defense ministry, or else they can go to Belarus, according to the statements. 

While there's been nothing in the way of confirmation that a large-scale movement of Wagner fighters have crossed into Belarus, Western media reports are on Friday referencing satellite images which they say suggests new Wagner
encampments on Belarusian soil: [indend]The satellite image appears to show activity at a disused military base about 13 miles (21km) from the town of Asipovichy - around 64 miles from Minsk, the capital of Belarus. The area has been reported in Russian media as a place which could house Wagner fighters.

BBC Verify has identified over 300 tent-like structures erected within the past two weeks.

A satellite image from 15 June shows none of these structures visible. The most recent high-resolution image we've obtained is from 30 June and reveals the extensive work being carried out at the base.[/indend]
But BBC cautions that, "It's not possible to confirm that these new structures are intended to house Wagner forces, but the leader of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko has agreed to accommodate them."

Meanwhile, on Friday Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov vowed that Russia will emerge "stronger" after the failed uprising, which saw some limited exchange of fire, including helicopter shootdowns by Wagner which killed Russian air force pilots. 

"Russia has always overcome all its problems... it comes out stronger and stronger,” Lavrov told a press briefing. "It will be the same this time, too. This process has already begun," he stressed. 

Lavrov also said that Moscow doesn't owe an explanation to the West. "Thank you for your concern about our national interests, but you shouldn't be worried," he told a foreign journalist in response to a question.

Colossal Value Of Wagner State Contracts Revealed By Russian Media

BY TYLER DURDEN   TUESDAY, JUL 04, 2023 - 06:10 AM

Last week Russian President Vladimir Putin had strongly hinted that corruption charges against Wagner chief Evgeny Prigozhin could be on the horizon, given the mercenary firm had received billions in state funds. Putin said this while explaining in a speech that the treason charges against him were essentially forgiven, as he was exiled to Belarus.

Putin further specified in the days following the brief uprising attempt of June 23-24 that Wagner had long been supplied and financed from the state budget and Defense Ministry. This large investment perhaps explains why the group became so indispensable to operations in Ukraine. But it is all now being investigated.

The president affirmed, in statements made to high-ranking officers, according to state media translation that Between May 2022 and May 2023, the Russian authorities allocated 86.26 billion rubles ($1.04 billion) for wages and incentive payments for the Wagner fighters, the president revealed. Additionally, Wagner founder Evgeny Prigozhin, who also co-owns the Concord catering company, earned billions of rubles on state contracts, Putin added.

"When the upkeep of the Wagner Group rested on the shoulders of the state, the Concord owner received… 80 billion rubles ($960 million) from the state in a year by supplying food products to the army," Putin said. "I hope that no one stole anything while fulfilling these [contracts]," Putin had said, emphasizing that authorities will "certainly dig into it."

Other Russian officials have since provided further details which reveal the extent of Prigozhin's vast wealth and holdings. 

Dmitry Kiselyov, the head of the Rossiya Segodnya media group, said in a Sunday interview which was subsequently translated and featured in state sources that in total Wagner "has received a little more than 858 billion rubles ($9.8 billion) under the contracts it signed with the state."

That totals just under $10 billion worth of just defense-related contracts. There's a similar, separate sum being estimated additionally through his catering company, Concord (also referenced in the above Putin quote)...

In total that's equivalent to $19 billion. "This does not mean that they have earned so much, but it is still indicative of the scale of the business and the scale of ambitions,” Kiselyov qualified, however. He assessed further:

He went on to point out that Prigozhin’s company had a strong media clout, adding that some people might have had the impression that the Wagner Group was the most capable frontline unit Russia had. 

Stressing that he did not want to "detract from anybody’s merits," Kiselyov recalled that regular Russian units had been faster in capturing the heavily defended city of Mariupol than Wagner troops were in seizing the Donbass stronghold of Artyomovsk (known as Bakhmut in Ukraine).

Kiselyov's words are important and are a likely direct reflection of Kremlin thinking and consensus on the matter, given that as head of the large state-run Rossiya Segodnya media group, he was directly appointed by Putin (starting in 2013). Rossiya Segodnya owns and operates Sputnik, RIA Novosti, inoSMI, and multiple other entities overseen by the state.

Currently it looks like Wagner's assets in Russia will be absorbed by the defense ministry and government; however, there remains speculation over what will become of the St. Peterburg-based group's foreign contracts and assets. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov days ago said that contracts signed between Wagner and African states will be up for the respective governments to decide the future of. So far there's been no sign that Wagner has abandoned its extensive dealings and presence in Africa.