Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko confirmed on Tuesday that Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the mercenary group Wagner, has arrived in Belarus after a short-lived armed mutiny in Russia.
PrigozhinB次元官网网址檚 exile in Belarus had been announced by the Kremlin announced earlier as part of the deal that ended the rebellion.
Lukashenko on Tuesday said Prigozhin has moved to Belarus and he and some of his troops would be welcome to stay in Belarus B次元官网网址渇or some timeB次元官网网址� at their own expense.
Russian authorities said Tuesday they have closed a criminal investigation into the aborted led by the mercenary chief and are pressing no charges against him or his troops.
The Federal Security Service, or FSB, said its investigation found that those involved in the mutiny, which lasted less than 24 hours after Prigozhin declared it Friday, B次元官网网址渃eased activities directed at committing the crime,B次元官网网址� so the case would not be pursued.
It was the latest twist in a series of stunning events that have brought the gravest threat so far to President Vladimir PutinB次元官网网址檚 grip on power amid the 16-month-old .
Over the weekend, the Kremlin pledged not to prosecute Prigozhin and his fighters after he stopped the revolt on Saturday, even though Putin had branded them as traitors and authorities rushed to fortify MoscowB次元官网网址檚 defenses as the mutineers approached the capital.
The charge of mounting an armed mutiny is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Prigozhin escaping prosecution poses a stark contrast to how the Kremlin has treated those staging anti-government protests in Russia, where have gotten long sentences in notoriously harsh penal colonies.
The whereabouts of Prigozhin remained a mystery Tuesday. The Kremlin has said he would be exiled to neighboring Belarus, but neither he nor have confirmed that.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he had no information on the 62-year-old .
An independent Belarusian military monitoring project Belaruski Hajun said a business jet that Prigozhin reportedly uses landed near Minsk on Tuesday morning. The media team for Prigozhin did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
BelarusB次元官网网址� authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko, a close Putin ally who brokered a deal with Prigozhin to stop the uprising, didnB次元官网网址檛 immediately address PrigozhinB次元官网网址檚 fate in a speech Tuesday.
Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus with an iron hand for 29 years, relentlessly stifling dissent and relying on Russian subsidies and political support, portrayed the uprising as the latest development in a clash between Prigozhin and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. Their long-simmering personal feud has at times boiled over, and Prigozhin has said the revolt aimed to unseat Shoigu, not Putin.
Lukashenko framed the insurrection as a significant menace, saying he put BelarusB次元官网网址� armed forces on a combat footing as the mutiny unfolded.
Lukashenko said he had urged Putin not to be hasty in his response, adding that a conflict with Wagner could have spiraled out of control.
Like Putin, Lukashenko couched the Ukraine war in terms of an existential threat to Russia, saying: B次元官网网址淚f Russia collapses, we all will perish under the debris.B次元官网网址�
Peskov refused to disclose any details about the KremlinB次元官网网址檚 deal with the Wagner chief. He said only that Putin had provided Prigozhin with B次元官网网址渃ertain promises B次元官网网址� certain guarantees,B次元官网网址� with the aim of avoiding a B次元官网网址渨orst-case scenario.B次元官网网址�
The mercenaries shot down at least six Russian helicopters and a military communications plane as they advanced on Moscow, according to Russian news reports. The Defense Ministry didnB次元官网网址檛 release any information about casualties, but media reports said at least a dozen airmen were killed.
Asked why the rebels were allowed to get as close as about 200 kilometers (about 125 miles) from Moscow without facing any serious resistance, National Guard chief Viktor Zolotov said authorities tried to assemble a strong force capable of stopping the onslaught.
B次元官网网址淲e concentrated our forces in one fist closer to Moscow,B次元官网网址� he told reporters. B次元官网网址淚f we spread them thin, they would have come like a knife through butter.B次元官网网址�
Zolotov also said the National Guard lacks battle tanks and other heavy weapons and now would get them.
In a nationally televised address Monday night, Putin again blasted organizers of the rebellion as traitors who played into the hands of and its allies. Although critical of Prigozhin, Putin praised Wagner troopsB次元官网网址� action in Ukraine and credited those who B次元官网网址渄idnB次元官网网址檛 engage in fratricidal bloodshed and stopped on the brink.B次元官网网址�
That was B次元官网网址渓ikely in an effort to retain themB次元官网网址� in the fight in Ukraine because Moscow needs B次元官网网址渢rained and effective manpowerB次元官网网址� as it faces a Ukrainian counteroffensive, according to a Washington-based think tank.
The Institute for the Study of War also noted the break between Putin and Prigozhin is likely beyond repair and that providing the Wagner chief and his loyalists with Belarus as an apparent safe haven could be a trap.
PrigozhinB次元官网网址檚 short-lived insurrection rattled RussiaB次元官网网址檚 leadership, and Putin sought to .
In his speech Monday, he criticized the uprisingB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址渙rganizers,B次元官网网址� without naming Prigozhin. He also praised Russian unity in the face of the crisis, as well as rank-and-file Wagner fighters for not letting the situation descend into B次元官网网址渕ajor bloodshed.B次元官网网址�
Putin returned to this theme in a Kremlin speech Tuesday B次元官网网址� his third in four days B次元官网网址� to soldiers and law enforcement officers, praising them for averting B次元官网网址渁 civil war.B次元官网网址� He again declared that the army and people didnB次元官网网址檛 support the mutiny, but avoided mentioning Prigozhin by name.
As part of the effort to cement PutinB次元官网网址檚 authority following the chaotic response to the mutiny, the ceremony featured Putin walking down the red-carpeted stairs of the KremlinB次元官网网址檚 15th century white-stone Palace of Facets to address a lineup of troops.
Putin mentioned the casualties and honored them with a moment of silence.
B次元官网网址淧ilots, our combat comrades, died while confronting the mutiny,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭hey didnB次元官网网址檛 waver and fulfilled the orders and their military duty with dignity.B次元官网网址�
PutinB次元官网网址檚 mention of the deaths comes amid angry statements from some Russian war bloggers and patriotic activists who vented outrage about Prigozhin and his troops not getting punished for killing the airmen. Prigozhin voiced regret for the deaths in an audio statement Monday, but said Wagner troops fired because they were getting bombed.
In another show of projecting authority, Putin was shown meeting Monday night with top security, law enforcement and military officials, including Shoigu.
Putin thanked his team for their work over the weekend, implying support for the embattled Shoigu. Earlier, authorities released video of Shoigu reviewing troops in Ukraine.
In his defiant statement Monday, Prigozhin taunted the Russian military but said he hadnB次元官网网址檛 been seeking to stage a coup against Putin.
It isnB次元官网网址檛 clear whether he will be able to keep his mercenary force. Putin has offered PrigozhinB次元官网网址檚 fighters to either come under RussiaB次元官网网址檚 Defense MinistryB次元官网网址檚 command, leave service or go to Belarus.
Prigozhin said, without elaborating, that the Belarusian leadership proposed solutions that would allow Wagner to operate B次元官网网址渋n a legal jurisdiction,B次元官网网址� but it was unclear what that meant.
Lukashenko said there is no reason to fear WagnerB次元官网网址檚 presence in his country, though in Russia there have been recent incidents of Wagner-recruited convicts being .
The Wagner troops have B次元官网网址減ricelessB次元官网网址� military knowledge and experience they can share with Belarus, Lukashenko said during a meeting with his defense minister, including tactics and weapons.
But exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who challenged Lukashenko in a 2020 election that was widely seen as fraudulent and triggered mass protests, said Wagner troops will threaten the country and its neighbors.
B次元官网网址淏elarusians donB次元官网网址檛 welcome war criminal Prigozhin,B次元官网网址� she told The Associated Press. B次元官网网址淚f Wagner sets up military bases on our territory, it will pose a new threat to our sovereignty and our neighbors.B次元官网网址�
READ ALSO:
