At a press conference on July 6, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said that the head of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, had returned to Russia. His statements come a few days after Prigozhin arrived in Belarusian territory, as Lukashenko stated at the time, as part of an agreement with Moscow after the failed rebellion against the Russian military leadership in the midst of an unprecedented attack by the Russian group of mercenaries against the Kremlin. , which threatened a “civil war”.
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In the midst of an unprecedented fracture between Wagner and Vladimir Putin’s Army in the war in Ukraine, the leader of the mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, returned to Russia. This was stated on Thursday, July 6, by the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of the Kremlin.
“Regarding Yevgeny Vasilyevich Prigozhin or Viktorovich, he is in St. Petersburg. Where is he this morning? He may have gone to Moscow or somewhere else, but he is not on Belarusian territory,” Lukashenko said.
The Belarusian president’s statements come after he stated on June 27 that Prigozhin arrived in his country, after that the erstwhile ally of Moscow in the ongoing conflict rebelled against the Army of the Kremlinbetween last Friday June 23 and Saturday 24, and requested the heads of its leaders, as well as that of the Minister of Defense, Sergei Shoigu.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko says Wagner group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, who was exiled to Belarus ten days ago following an aborted mutiny, is now back home in Russian city of St. Petersburg pic.twitter.com/J8uISCBFQb
— TRT World (@trtworld) July 6, 2023
The transfer of the head of mercenaries occurred after arriving in an agreement, mediated by Minsk, to stop a riot that threatened to “march” on Moscow, in exchange for the Kremlin dropping charges against him for rebellion. A Russian-versus-Russian clash over the invasion of Ukraine, which Putin admitted threatened to escalate into a “civil war.”
Doubts are raised about the legal future of Prigozhin
The arrival of Prigozhin to Belarus suggested to be the beginning of his exile, but his return leaves new questions. Despite the deal that Lukashenko brokered, it is unclear whether he could eventually be tried for his failed rebellion.
The new information about his whereabouts comes a day after Russian television broadcast images of what they claimed was a raid on the home of the mercenary leader in Saint Petersburg.
In the place, the Russian intelligence services found gold bars, a million dollar booty in dollars and an arsenal of firearms.
When questioned about it, the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, stated that “they are not following the movements” of the mercenary.
These facts underscore the enormous uncertainties surrounding the terms and implementation of the agreement that ended the armed riot.
Although in his statements in recent weeks Putin has promised to guarantee the safety of Wagner’s rebels, at the same time he has described the uprising as a “betrayal” and a “stab in the back”, for which he promised to prosecute those who participated in the uprising. .
With Reuters and AP
