Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Thursday that Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was now in Russia, raising questions about the deal between Moscow and the mercenary leader that ended his short-lived mutiny.
“As for Yevgeny Prigozhin, he is in St. Petersburg. Maybe he went to Moscow, but he is not on Belarusian soil,” Lukashenko said, according to the Russian news agency TASS.
Prigozhin initially traveled to Belarus after the two-day mutiny that took place on June 23 and 24. According to media reports, the understanding was that Prigozhin was going to live in Belarus in exile and that charges against him would be dropped. Wagner fighters were given the option of going to Belarus, signing contracts with the Russian Defense Ministry, or going home to their families.
Discussing Lukashenko’s comments with reporters, the Kremlin said they would not track Prigozhin. “No, we are not tracking his [Prigozhin’s] whereabouts, have no possibilities and desire to do so,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Lukashenko also discussed the possibility of Wagner fighters being deployed to Belarus. Some members of the mercenary force are expected to go to Belarus, but it’s not clear how many or in what capacity. Lukashenko said those decisions were up to Russian authorities.
“It will all depend on the decision of the company’s management and Russian authorities. If they consider it necessary to deploy some troops [from Wagner] in Belarus for some rest and training, I will certainly execute my order,” he said. The Belarusian leader said that for now, Wagner fighters were at their “permanent base camps” where they withdrew to after the battle of Bakhmut.
Interesting, to say the least.
Another act of direct defiance of Putin’s authority. He’s forcing Putin’s hand. Now he has to be arrested.
Unless…there is something else going on. NATO and the US had been voicing concern about Wagner forces in Belarus since Prigozhin went there. If they really were trying to start a coup and were against Putin, the US/NATO would see them as at least temporary allies and not enemies. Right?
I would think if he was defying Russia by returning his arrest would be swift?
Just spitballing.
But it must look to the Russian Street and the West like Putin is actually afraid of the power of Pri’s popular support, … even within the police, military and security forces.
I doubt it. To me, it shows he’s not afraid of him or else he would have never gained passage.
It’s difficult to understand, which is why I am thinking it could be master 4D chess deceptive moves from Putin, or not. I have no idea. Reality is stranger than fiction. LOL
I figured it out. Both Prigozhin and Putin have multiple personalities. They all realized that they caused a lot of confusion. They all met in Moscow and agreed to resume their acts. They’re both acting as the familiar James Bond’s villain at the same time. Now, all Zelensky has to do is hold his breath under water, in the ice, in a nuclear reactor, and fall from an airplane without a parachute. (Sarcasm alert)
There. Someone has it all figured out.
That darn warlord !
So much theatre swirling around the man.
Was it a coup ?
Was it a negotiating ploy for a better retirement package ?
Was it all subterfuge to mask a redeloyment of Wagner forces ?
Surovikin and Prigozhin may still be in the game as some have speculated.
Surovikin does not strike me as a traitor and he was the architect of the fortifications in Ukraine that are causing so much misery for the Ukrainian army.
Will Surovikin and Prigozhin reappear leading a task force to take Odessa ?
Stay tuned
“Will Surovikin and Prigozhin reappear leading a task force to take Odessa ? Stay tuned”
Oh yeah, and this time they’ll take it in 3 days. Stay tuned.
notice that we never see Surovikin and Prigozhin at the same time in the same place.
things that make you go “hmmm…” or “LOL…”
I don’t much care.
He had his 15 minutes.
He made a deal to save his skin.
And now he – appears – to be a rich nobody.
I could be wrong.
But it seems like his time has passed.
I read an article, I forget where, that they were relieving him of his wealth.
They raided a residence of his and showed of a huge pile of money, sledge hammers and a wig collection.
Putin shared they are investigating him for “financial” stuff.
He’s either going to be “rehabilitated” with shock treatment…
….. or they are going to be really mean to him before they kill him.
maybe Seal Team 6 will capture him and throw his carcass into the ocean like they did with Saddam’s and bin-Laden’s
To me, it was a pretty clever move by Russia and the Wagner Group. There are Wagner forces in Belarus (who knows how many) and I believe more will join. A look at a map shows how close Belarus is to Kiev, and the line of defense for Donbas provinces.
I have to think this is Russia playing with our heads. Turns out that most of Russia’s generals were aware of this so-called coup days before it happened. Turns out that our neocon-driven Department of State was aware of it as well. Our illustrious MSM had visions of Russia’s imminent collapse as did many commenters on this site. They were all into showing their hand and exposing their contacts in Russia to which Putin gives a hearty thank you. They will be dealt with accordingly.
He was never in Belarus. To quote Tom Cruise: Don’t be so glib.
…………………………………..
Prigozhin found in Afghanistan. Lol. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/159e59510cb374fe0de0ebe9ac2187c35edcd8e5b060924a948b4328a36b4b5c.png
I am more interested in Surivokin’s whereabouts than Prigozhin. If Surivokin is supporting Prigozhin, then Putin has very big trouble. On the other hand, if Surivokin is innocent but being detained by a paranoid regime, then Putin will have even bigger trouble with dissension in the military.
Russia is going through a stage when an imperial power loses an asymmetric war. The generals and politicians look for scapegoats. Hardliners call for escalation and accuse current military and civilian leaders of incompetence or even treason. Often the hardliners gain power but escalation can’t change the outcome. Russia will eventually have to withdraw from Ukraine. They have become an unpopular occupying power and the longer they stay the stronger the resistance will become. I don’t know whether Russia will leave in two months or two decades. I have seen this movie many times before. I don’t know how long the film runs. But I know the end. Ironically in many countries hard line leaders like Nixon, DeGaulle or Trump wind up ending the wars of their predecessors.
“Ironically in many countries hardline leaders like Nixon, DeGaulle or Trump wind up ending the wars of their predecessors.”
What war did Trump end? Trump made noises about ending wars, but it never happened. Trump is great at making noises. Following through is not his forte.
I don’t want to defend Trump. He is a despicable human being. But he did commit the US to ending Obama’s wars in Syria and Afghanistan. The Democrats and the Neocon Republicans stymied him. But he did set the US on the path of disengagement.
So much of the Wagner Groups vast assets are inter-woven into Russia’s economy, so that Prigozhin is literally “too big to fail’, and will remain so until those assets are decoupled and neutralized..
As for Belarus, Papa Luka could certainly use Wagner’s presence to checkmate any funny moves by the sneaky Poles..
Yes, surely. Wagner is the most powerful army in the world and can easily take over Poland.
Now get back to your video games.