A screenshot from a video shows Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin speaking behind the Southern Military District headquarters surrounded by fighters of Wagner’s paramilitary group in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, June 24, 2023. (Wagner/Anadolu Photography Agency via Getty Images)
Wagner | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Belarusian leader Aleksandr Lukashenko told reporters on Thursday that Wagner Group mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is currently in St. Petersburg, Russia, although he is said to have been exiled to Belarus.
On June 27, Lukashenko apparently confirmed that Prigozhin had arrived in Belarus under the terms of an agreement with the Kremlin that allowed him to avoid prosecution for leading Wagner’s mutiny. Before that, his fighters captured the southern city of Rostov-on-Don and marched on Moscow.
Lukashenko said on Thursday that Prigozhin was in St. Petersburg, adding that “he is not on Belarusian territory” and that he was “free” after a phone call with Wagner chiefs. Lukashenko did not confirm whether Prigozhin was really in Belarus after the coup, and his whereabouts are a bit of a mystery.
“Prigorzhin appears to have been allowed to move freely in Russia and keep his assets. That doesn’t mean he’s being rehabilitated,” said Chris Weafer, chief executive of Macro-, a Moscow-based economic consultancy. But equally he is not Public Enemy Number One,” the Advisory, told CNBC in an emailed statement.
The Belarusian leader brokered a deal that allegedly ended Prigozhin’s armed mutiny, launched protests against what he sees as corruption and incompetence in the Russian armed forces’ handling of the war in Ukraine, and allegedly fired on Wagner’s forces. gun. The deal reportedly allowed him to live in exile in Belarus without prosecution.
Lukashenko also on Thursday reiterated Wagner’s proposal to station some mercenaries in Belarus, a proposal that has troubled NATO neighbors.
His comments underscored uncertainty over the future of Prigozhin and his Kremlin-backed mercenaries, with Russian President Vladimir Putin saying an aborted rebellion could lead to civil war.
Russian state television insisted on Wednesday that the investigation into Wagner’s rebellion was still ongoing and launched a fierce attack on Prigozhin.
The corporate jet has links to Wagner leader, former close Putin ally, Kremlin chef, Tracked Petersburg for Moscow on Wednesday and the south of the country on Thursday before heading back north, but it was unclear whether Prigozhin himself was on board.
Weaver said the new developments meant that Prigozhin “had reached an ‘understanding’ with the Kremlin: that he would not threaten the regime again, and in exchange he would continue to be free to manage his business interests and possibly Wagner. .” ”
“Wagner, or some variant of it, will continue to be useful to the Kremlin in several countries in Africa. It is unlikely that they will ever operate in eastern Ukraine again … It is a very Russian solution, essentially Internal power struggles,” Weaver added.