Wagner-friendly groups publish video allegedly showing Prigozhin in Belarus

July 19 () –

Several Telegram channels related to the Wagner Group have published a video on Wednesday in which a man who could be the leader of the organization, Yevgeni Prigozhin, is observed addressing the mercenaries in Belarusian territory.

“I am happy to greet you all. Welcome to Belarusian land (…) We have done a lot for Russia,” a man physically resembling Prigozhin and whose tone of voice matches that of the leader of the mercenaries, declares in the aforementioned video. picks up .

The video would confirm that Prigozhin is finally in Belarus, as agreed between the mercenaries, the Russian and Belarusian authorities after the frustrated rebellion attempt orchestrated by the Wagner Group at the end of June.

The alleged Prigozhin criticizes in the video the planning and execution of military operations in Ukraine by the Russian Ministry of Defense, an organization with which it has not hidden its discrepancies regarding the military strategy in the war.

“What is happening now at the front is an embarrassment in which we need not participate. We have to wait for the time when we can fully prove ourselves,” says the man in the video.

The mediation of the Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko, was crucial to prevent the revolt of the Wagner Group from escalating. The pact allowed the mercenaries to stay in Belarus and leave Ukraine in exchange for not facing criminal charges for rebellion.

In addition, Minsk has reported that the mercenaries of the Wagner Group are already collaborating in the training of the Armed Forces of Belarus in combat practices. The alleged Prigozhin who appears on video claims that they will make this “the second largest Army in the world.”

This would therefore be the first time that images of Prigozhin have been published since the attempted rebellion, when his track was lost, although the Kremlin reported last week that he had held a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a few days after the revolt.