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Minsk: Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin In St. Petersburg, his Wagner The troops remained in the camps where they stayed before the brief mutiny against Moscow. Belarus said Thursday.
president of belarus Alexander Lukashenko Help Prigozhin reach a deal to end the rebellion on June 24 in exchange for amnesty and security for himself and his soldiers, as well as permission to emigrate to Belarus.
However, few details of the agreement have surfaced, and the whereabouts and future of Wagner’s chief and his personal army remain unclear. The Kremlin has declined to comment on Prigozhin’s location or actions since the failed rebellion.
After saying Prigozhin was in Belarus last week, Lukashenko told international reporters on Thursday that the mercenary leader was in St. Petersburg and that Wagner’s troops were still in their camp.
He did not specify the location of the camp, but Prigozhin’s mercenaries had fought alongside Russian troops in eastern Ukraine before the uprising.
Lukashenko said his government had offered Wagner, a private military contractor founded by Prigorzhin, access to a Belarusian military barracks, but the company had not yet made a final decision.
Asked whether Prigozhin and his mercenaries planned to move to Belarus, Lukashenko evasively replied that it would be up to Chief Wagner and the Russian government to decide. The Belarusian leader said he did not think Wagner’s presence in Belarus would lead to instability in the country.
In a brief rebellion, they quickly swept through the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, captured the military headquarters there, and marched on the Russian capital. Prigozhin described it as a “just march” to oust Russia’s defense minister and chief of the general staff.
Prigozhin claimed his forces had come within about 200 kilometers (about 125 miles) of Moscow under an agreement brokered by Lukashenko, ordering them to halt their advance.
The failed rebellion is the biggest threat to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s more than two decades in power, exposing weaknesses in the Kremlin and undermining Putin’s authority.
Meeting little resistance, the Wagner fighters occasionally breached barricades and shot down at least six helicopters and a command post plane, killing at least 10 pilots.
Lukashenko’s statement came after Russian media reports that Prigozhin had been found in St Petersburg, Russiasecond largest city. His arrival is seen as part of an agreement to allow him to complete business there.
Russian media claimed Prigozhin recovered cash confiscated in a search of his office and a small collection of weapons he had stored at his St. Petersburg home.
Russian online newspaper Fontanka published videos and photos of Prigozhin’s opulent mansion as well as some personal items, including a collection of wigs of various colours. It also published a series of selfies showing him in various wigs and in a foreign uniform, apparently reflecting Wagner’s deployments in Syria and several African countries.
Lukashenko said he warned Prigozhin that if they failed to reach an agreement to end the rebellion, he and his forces would be destroyed and Belarus would send a brigade to help protect Moscow.
He believes the rebellion could lead to major bloodshed and plunge Russia into civil war.
“It is necessary to nip it in the bud. As history has shown, this is very dangerous,” Lukashenko said.
president of belarus Alexander Lukashenko Help Prigozhin reach a deal to end the rebellion on June 24 in exchange for amnesty and security for himself and his soldiers, as well as permission to emigrate to Belarus.
However, few details of the agreement have surfaced, and the whereabouts and future of Wagner’s chief and his personal army remain unclear. The Kremlin has declined to comment on Prigozhin’s location or actions since the failed rebellion.
After saying Prigozhin was in Belarus last week, Lukashenko told international reporters on Thursday that the mercenary leader was in St. Petersburg and that Wagner’s troops were still in their camp.
He did not specify the location of the camp, but Prigozhin’s mercenaries had fought alongside Russian troops in eastern Ukraine before the uprising.
Lukashenko said his government had offered Wagner, a private military contractor founded by Prigorzhin, access to a Belarusian military barracks, but the company had not yet made a final decision.
Asked whether Prigozhin and his mercenaries planned to move to Belarus, Lukashenko evasively replied that it would be up to Chief Wagner and the Russian government to decide. The Belarusian leader said he did not think Wagner’s presence in Belarus would lead to instability in the country.
In a brief rebellion, they quickly swept through the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, captured the military headquarters there, and marched on the Russian capital. Prigozhin described it as a “just march” to oust Russia’s defense minister and chief of the general staff.
Prigozhin claimed his forces had come within about 200 kilometers (about 125 miles) of Moscow under an agreement brokered by Lukashenko, ordering them to halt their advance.
The failed rebellion is the biggest threat to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s more than two decades in power, exposing weaknesses in the Kremlin and undermining Putin’s authority.
Meeting little resistance, the Wagner fighters occasionally breached barricades and shot down at least six helicopters and a command post plane, killing at least 10 pilots.
Lukashenko’s statement came after Russian media reports that Prigozhin had been found in St Petersburg, Russiasecond largest city. His arrival is seen as part of an agreement to allow him to complete business there.
Russian media claimed Prigozhin recovered cash confiscated in a search of his office and a small collection of weapons he had stored at his St. Petersburg home.
Russian online newspaper Fontanka published videos and photos of Prigozhin’s opulent mansion as well as some personal items, including a collection of wigs of various colours. It also published a series of selfies showing him in various wigs and in a foreign uniform, apparently reflecting Wagner’s deployments in Syria and several African countries.
Lukashenko said he warned Prigozhin that if they failed to reach an agreement to end the rebellion, he and his forces would be destroyed and Belarus would send a brigade to help protect Moscow.
He believes the rebellion could lead to major bloodshed and plunge Russia into civil war.
“It is necessary to nip it in the bud. As history has shown, this is very dangerous,” Lukashenko said.
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