Wagner chief Prigozhin is in Russia, Lukashenko says
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the boss of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, which led a failed rebellion in Russia last month, has returned to Russia, the Belarusian autocrat has said.
Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin.Photo: Telegram/concordgroup_official/
Lukashenko said on June 27 that Prigozhin had arrived in Belarus as part of the deal he brokered between the mercenary boss and the Kremlin and which ended the mutiny, which had witnessed the mercenary fighters under Prigozhin capture the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and set off on a “march for justice” towards Moscow.
“As for Prigozhin, he’s in St Petersburg. He is not on the territory of Belarus,” Lukashenko told reporters on Thursday. “Where is Prigozhin this morning? Maybe he left for Moscow.”
The Belarusian dictator added that the issue of transferring Wagner units to Belarus has not been resolved and will depend on the decision of Russia and the mercenaries.
„Whether they will be in Belarus or not, in what quantity, we will figure it out in the near future,” he said.
Lukashenka’s words revealed great uncertainty about the deal that ended the rebellion that, according to Russian President Vladimir Putin, could have sparked a civil war in the country.
Meanwhile, Russian state media launched a vicious attack on Prigozhin on Wednesday, aimed at discrediting him in the eyes of the Russian public.
The TV channel Rossiya-1 showed, it claims, footage shot during an FSB raid on Prigozhin’s private estate in St. Petersburg. The FSB said that weapons, gold bars and a wardrobe full of wigs were found in the opulent mansion.
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Source: PAP, IAR, Reuters
