Wagner chief is still in Russia according to Lukashenko, Kremlin claims it is 'not following' his movements

Despite claims Prigozhin and his Wagner mercenaries had been effectively exiled to Belarus, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has claimed that Prigozhin is in Saint Petersburg.

World

2 min read

The New Arab Staff & Agencies

London

06 July, 2023

Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko was allegedly key to ending the Wagner Coup [Getty]

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is still in Russia, Belarus's president said Thursday, raising questions about the deal to end the mercenary leader's mutiny last month.

Rescue workers meanwhile were clawing through rubble in the UNESCO-protected western Ukrainian city of Lviv, which was hit by a Russian missile early Thursday that killed four and injured dozens more.

Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko mediated a deal to end Prigozhin's revolt -- the most serious challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin's rule -- that was to see the mercenary head into Belarusian exile.

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"As far as Prigozhin is concerned, he is in Saint Petersburg... He is not in Belarus," Lukashenko, who has ruled isolated Belarus for nearly three decades, told reporters from foreign media outlets in Minsk.

Speaking in the presidential palace, Lukashenko said he knew "for sure" that Prigozhin was a free man, adding: "I spoke to him on the phone yesterday".

🧵The FSB raided Yevgeny Prigozhin's estate in Saint Petersburg, Russia on June 24th, as his forces advanced through Russia in the armed rebellion against the Kremlin. The FSB has since returned everything they seized, over $111 million in cash (in rubles), weapons, everything. pic.twitter.com/3PZXwEmMLa
— Igor Sushko (@igorsushko) July 5, 2023

Russia 'not following' Prigozhin's movements

The Kremlin replied by saying it was "not following" Prigozhin's movements, nearly two weeks after the June 23 mutiny that saw armed fighters on the march toward Moscow.

Lukashenko said that members of Prigozhin's Wagner mercenary group have not established a base in Belarus yet, despite an offer from the Kremlin for those who took part in the failed mutiny to do so.

"At the moment the question of their transfer and set-up has not been decided," Lukashenko said.

Images broadcast by Russian media on Wednesday showed police entering Prigozhin's residence, a vast and luxurious mansion with a helicopter parked in the grounds, reportedly on June 25.