Russia's Wagner fighters are training soldiers in Belarus - ministry

A fighter from Russian Wagner mercenary group conducts training for Belarusian soldiers on a range near the town of Osipovichi, Belarus July 14, 2023 in this still image taken from handout video. Voen Tv/Belarusian Defence Ministry/Handout via REUTERS

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Fighters from Russia's Wagner mercenary group are training soldiers in Belarus, the Belarusian defence ministry said on Friday.

The ministry released a video showing Wagner fighters instructing Belarusian soldiers at a military range near the town of Osipovichi, about 90 km (56 miles) southeast of the capital Minsk.

"Wagner fighters acted as instructors in a number of military disciplines," the Belarusian defence ministry said.

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko helped broker a deal to end a brief armed mutiny by Wagner on June 23-24, when the group took control of the southern Russian city of Rostov and marched towards Moscow, shooting down a number of military helicopters and killing their pilots.

Under the deal, Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin stood down his mercenaries and agreed to move to Belarus in exchange for Russia dropping mutiny charges.

Prigozhin has not been seen in public since leaving Rostov on June 24.

(Reporting by Reuters; editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Mark Trevelyan)