Russia-Ukraine War Lukashenko Claims Russia Owns Prigozhin
Russia-Ukraine War Lukashenko Claims Russia Owns Prigozhin
MINSK, Belarus — The head of Belarus stated on Thursday that the mercenary commander Yevgeny V. Prigozhin is in Russia and that he is a “free man.” This statement added to the uncertainties that have been circulating about Mr. Prigozhin’s whereabouts and destiny nearly two weeks after he called off his startling armed insurrection against Moscow’s military authorities.
Aleksandr G. Lukashenko, the autocratic leader of Belarus, granted a rare interview session with reporters at Independence Palace. He stated that Mr. Prigozhin was in his native city of St. Petersburg as of Thursday morning, and that after that, “maybe he went to Moscow, maybe somewhere else, but he is not on the territory of Belarus.” The claims he made days after the mutiny, in which he claimed that the leader of the Wagner paramilitary troops had arrived in Belarus, were in stark contrast to the ones he made in this article. Since the start of the uprising about two weeks ago, Mr. Prigozhin has been completely absent from public view.
A Pentagon official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter subsequently verified that Mr. Prigozhin had spent the majority of the time since the mutiny in Russia, between the cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg. According to the official, it is unknown whether or not Mr. Prigozhin has ever visited Belarus because he reportedly employs body doubles in order to conceal his activities.
In the armed uprising that was being led by Mr. Prigozhin, Mr. Lukashenko stepped in at the end of the previous month and struck a deal with the Wagner commander. According to the terms of the agreement, the Wagner leader would disarm and withdraw his forces in return for amnesty for his warriors and safe passage to Belarus for himself. The fact that Mr. Prigozhin appears to be in Russia raises a number of concerns over the potential success of the agreement.
Mr. Lukashenko told the journalists that Mr. Prigozhin was “not on the territory of Belarus,” and that Wagner forces were still in their “permanent camps,” which are thought to be in the Luhansk area of eastern Ukraine. Mr. Lukashenko also stated that Wagner troops were not in Belarus.
The statements contributed to the uncertainty that followed the most spectacular challenge to President Vladimir V. Putin’s authority during the 23 years that he has served in his current position. On Thursday, the Kremlin informed reporters that it was unable to comment on the allegations made by Mr. Lukashenko because it did not know where Mr. Prigozhin was.
We are not able to track his movements. According to Dmitri S. Peskov, who works as a spokesman for the Kremlin, “We have neither the capability nor the desire to do so.”
The independent St. Petersburg news site Fontanka, which broke some of the initial articles on Mr. Prigozhin, stated that the mercenary chief was in St. Petersburg earlier this week to collect weapons that Russian police took from his country residence during the mutiny. These weapons were captured during the mutiny that occurred earlier this month.
Fontanka stated that Mr. Prigozhin came at the city’s Federal Security Services facility in the middle of the night between Tuesday and Wednesday in a 7 Series BMW and received a cache of carbines, automatic rifles and handguns that the authorities had confiscated from his rural estate. According to a Russian media outlet, one of the firearms that were returned to Mr. Prigozhin was a Glock handgun that had been given to him as a gift by the Russian defence minister, Sergei K. Shoigu, before the official became the target of the mercenary chief’s ire.
Mr. Lukashenko also gave the impression that at least a portion of Wagner’s fighting unit may remain intact. This particular military group played a significant role in Russia’s seizure of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut earlier this spring. He referred to the organisation as Russia’s “most powerful unit,” despite the fact that he stated that “the main question of where Wagner will be deployed and what will it do — it doesn’t depend on me; it depends on the leadership of Russia.”
Mr. Lukashenko reported that he had a conversation with Mr. Prigozhin on Wednesday, and that Wagner will continue to “fulfil its duties to Russia for as long as it can.” He stated that Mr. Prigozhin was “a free man, but as for what will happen later, I don’t know.”
He stated that he did not anticipate that Mr. Putin would seek swift retribution for the failed insurrection and that’s exactly what he didn’t expect to happen. “If you think that Putin is so malicious and vindictive that he will ‘kill’ Prigozhin tomorrow — no, this will not happen,” he remarked to her. “This will not happen.”
Mr. Lukashenko had earlier stated that he had given Wagner fighters a “abandoned” military camp, and satellite photographs that were validated by The New York Times last week revealed that new temporary structures were being erected at an abandoned site some 80 miles from Minsk, which is the capital city of Belarus. On the other hand, Mr. Lukashenko appeared to be less certain about the possibility that Wagner forces are already present in Belarus on Thursday.
“In the future, we will decide whether or not they will come here, and if they do, we will determine how many of them will come,” he stated.
Mr. Lukashenko stated that any Wagner troops stationed in Belarus may be called upon to protect the nation, and that the group’s promise to fight for Belarus in the event of a conflict was the primary condition for granting it permission to transfer to the country. Mr. Lukashenko also stated that any Wagner units stationed in Belarus could be called upon to defend the country.
“If we need to activate this unit for the defence of the nation, then it will be activated immediately,” he stated. “If we must activate this unit for the defence of the nation.” And the need for people with their level of experience will be great.
The official from the Pentagon stated that there was no evidence to suggest that any Wagner fighters were in Belarus, and it seemed as though the majority of them were still at their base in eastern Ukraine. According to the source, there was insufficient information to suggest that a large number were entering the Russian military.
Even though he is becoming more cut off from the rest of the world, Mr. Lukashenko has positioned himself as a power broker who was instrumental in preventing a crisis following the uprising that occurred in Russia towards the end of the previous month. Mr. Lukashenko appears to be seeking to polish his image as a crucial actor in the resolution of one of the largest crises of Mr. Putin’s time as Russia’s leader. This is despite the fact that the West views him as a subordinate under the control of the Kremlin.
Mr. Lukashenko may be hoping to establish a measure of independence from his benefactors in Moscow by granting an interview session with a small group of reporters at his presidential palace on Thursday. He may also be hoping to get a boost at home, with an electorate more interested in peace than joining Mr. Putin’s war in Ukraine.
