Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Tuesday said that Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has arrived in Belarus following his short-lived mutiny in Russia.
“Yes, indeed, he is in Belarus today,” Lukashenko said, according to the Belarusian news agency BELTA.
The Belarusian leader denied rumors that camps for Wagner fighters were being built in Belarus but said he was ready to “accommodate” members of the mercenary group.
“We don’t build any camps for now. But if they want, we will accommodate them. As far as I can see, they are looking at various territories. Feel free to set up tents. But for now, they are in their own camps in Lugansk,” Lukashenko said.
It’s not clear how many Wagner members will head to Belarus. Under a deal to end Prigozhin’s mutiny, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered the mercenary fighters three options: sign contracts with the Russian Defense Ministry, go to Belarus, or return home to their families.
“[Putin] told me yesterday that those, who don’t want to sign the contract and don’t want to fight, can quit,” Lukashenko said. The Belarusian leader added that Prigozhin told him some fighters will sign contracts with the Russian Defense Ministry and that others are looking to go home.
Lukashenko also detailed his mediation efforts between Prigozhin and Putin that ended the mutiny. Lukashenko said that during the talks, Prigozhin agreed to drop his demand for the resignation of Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the general staff of the Russian Armed Forces.
Lukashenko also claimed that he convinced Putin not to “eliminate” those involved in the rebellion. “I suggested that Putin should not rush to do it. I suggested that I talk to Prigozhin, his commanders,” he said.
Poor sob. He just wanted to be pulled out of the madness…and maybe a hug. All that intensive killing was getting to him. He snapped….yeah right! I can’t wait for the clearer version of this side quest to be revealed.
Prigo is in Belarus but what abaout PMC Wagner? They are still at the camps at Lugansk and now Shoigu is demanding that they hand over their weapons before they’re allowed to go. Will this cause another mutiny?
Putin’s troubles with Ukraine began long before these events. His failure to take Kyiv immediately opened the door for NATO to enter the war on the side of Ukraine. Putin either did not understand or underestimated that support.
NATO’s problem is that it can provide weapons but not large numbers of soldiers to Zelensky.
Time to end this madness is now.
As far as I can tell, Prigozhin did the whole armed rebellion thing to try and negotiate himself a raise – and it sounds like he got it in the end and now he get to retire as a rich man in Belarus.
No. It’s been all this time about growing personal animosity between Prigo and his commanders (and presumably troops) vs Shoigu and his “perfumed” and “ass-licking” generals, most notably Gerasimov. Putin eventually took side for the latter and wanted to force Wagner to work under them but after the many betrayals of Shoigu at Bakhmut, they can’t do that: it’d be suicidal.
Putin and Prizoghin are both self-serving thugs with strong survival instincts. I wouldn’t rule out a reconciliation deal where Wagner builds bases in Belarus to spearhead an attack on Kiev only 65 miles from the Belarus border. In fact, one possible explanation for the Wagner coup was that the entire thing was staged by Putin, Prizoghin and Lukashenko to get Ukraine to drop its guard while positioning Wagner to set up a “Trojan Horse” surprise attack on Kiev. I hope the Ukrainians recognize the potential of Wagner striking Ukraine from Belarus and prepares for that possibility.
“Lukashenko Says Prigozhin Is in Belarus -The Belarusian leader detailed some of his mediation efforts between Prigozhin and Putin”
Is Prigozhin insane like Col. Kurtz from “Apocalypse Now” or is he a traitor Like Benedict Arnold or is he a narcissistic psychopath?
Rumor is that he is in a windowless hotel in Minsk.
It will be interesting to se what happens in the near future.