Lukashenka Says Demands For Wagner To Withdraw From Belarus 'Groundless And Stupid'

Belarusian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka said that demands for the withdrawal of Russia's Wagner mercenary group from Belarus were "groundless and stupid," Belarusian state news agency BELTA reported on August 31. Wagner, whose leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was killed in a plane crash in Russia last week, relocated some of its fighters to Belarus under a deal brokered by Lukashenka after the mercenary army launched a failed mutiny in June aimed at ousting Prigozhin's rivals from the Russian Defense Ministry.