MINSK, Belarus (AP) — Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is in St. Petersburg and his Wagner troops have remained on the camps the place they’d stayed earlier than a short-lived mutiny in opposition to Moscow, the president of Belarus mentioned Thursday.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko helped dealer a deal for Prigozhin to finish his rise up on June 24 in trade for amnesty and safety ensures for himself and his troopers and permission to maneuver to Belarus.
However, few particulars of the settlement have emerged, and the whereabouts and futures of the Wagner firm’s chief and his personal military have remained unclear. The Kremlin has refused to touch upon Prigozhin’s location or actions for the reason that abortive revolt.
After saying final week that Prigozhin was in Belarus, Lukashenko informed worldwide reporters Thursday that the mercenary chief was in St. Petersburg and Wagner’s troops nonetheless have been at their camps.
He didn’t specify the situation of the camps, however Prigozhin‘s mercenaries fought alongside Russian forces in jap Ukraine earlier than their revolt.
Lukashenko mentioned )his authorities supplied Wagner, a non-public army contractor based by Prigozhin, using Belarusian army camps however the firm had not made a last choice.
Asked if Prigozhin and his mercenaries have been going to maneuver to Belarus, Lukashenko answered evasively that it might rely on the choices of the Wagner chief and the Russian authorities. The Belarusian chief mentioned he doesn’t suppose Wagner’s presence in Belarus might result in the destabilization of his nation.
During their quick revolt, they shortly swept over the southern Russian metropolis of Rostov-on-Don and captured army headquarters there earlier than marching on the Russian capital. Prigozhin described it as a “march of justice” to oust the Russian protection minister and the General Staff chief.
Prigozhin claimed his troops had come inside about 200 kilometers (about 125 miles) of Moscow when he ordered them to cease the advance underneath the deal brokered by Lukashenko.
The abortive rise up represented the largest risk to Russian President Vladimir Putin in his greater than 20 years in energy and uncovered the Kremlin’s weak point, eroding Putin’s authority.
The Wagner fighters confronted little resistance, smashing occasional roadblocks and downing no less than six helicopters and a command publish plane, killing no less than 10 airmen.
Lukashenko’s assertion adopted Russian media studies saying Prigozhin was noticed in St. Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest metropolis. His presence was seen as a part of agreements that allowed him to finalize his affairs there.
Russian media retailers claimed Prigozhin retrieved money that was confiscated throughout raids of his workplaces and a small arsenal of weapons he saved at his dwelling in St. Petersburg.
Russian on-line newspaper Fontanka posted movies and images of Prigozhin‘s opulent mansion and some personal items, including a collection of wigs of various colors. It also published a collection of selfies that showed him posing in various wigs and foreign uniforms, an apparent reflection of Wagner’s deployments to Syria and several other African nations.
Lukashenko mentioned he warned Prigozhin that he and his troops could be destroyed in the event that they did not make a deal to finish their mutiny and that Belarus would ship a brigade to assist defend Moscow.
He argued that the rise up might result in main bloodshed and plunge Russia right into a civil warfare.
“It was necessary to nip it in the bud. It was very dangerous, as history shows,” Lukashenko mentioned.
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