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Prigozhin’s presence in Russia raises questions about deal to end mutiny
Wagner chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who led the failed rebellion against Vladimir Putin is back in Russia after he was exiled to Belarus as part of a deal brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
Lukashenko on Thursday said that Prigozhin was no longer in Belarus, but in St Petersburg, or may have moved to Moscow, just ten days after he announced that the mutinous chief was in Belarus.
Future of Prigozhin and Wagner
Prigozhin’s future remains unclear and his whereabouts in Russia are not yet known. The Kremlin on Thursday said that it was not tracking the Russian mercenary chief’s movements.
Lukashenko, who brokered the deal that ended Wagner’s military uprising in June, said at a press conference on Thursday that while he does not know what will happen to the Wagner chief, he believes that Putin at this point would not have him killed.
As far as the Wagner fighters are concerned, Lukashenko said that they have not been relocated to Belarus — one of the conditions of the deal — and he is not currently preparing any facilities to house them.
Putin has not made any public statements on the matter, but Lukashenko’s claims indicate that the deal that was brokered to put an end to the military uprising may have completely fallen apart.
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Meanwhile, Russian state media said a raid was conducted on Prigozhin’s office and house in St Petersburg.
The pro-Kremlin media launched a fierce attack on the Wagner boss by broadcasting images and videos it said were obtained from the raid. Authorities reportedly seized huge amounts of cash, gold, weapons, wigs, and multiple fake passports allegedly belonging to Prigozhin.
It is not uncommon for officials to slap criminal charges and execute raids on critics of Putin’s establishment.
Just as news of Prigozhin’s arrival in Russia spread, the state media was seen extensively reporting on his criminal past, implying that there may be moves afoot to discredit the mutinous chief, and that the Kremlin may be reviewing terms of the deal that spared Prigozhin and dropped all criminal charges against him following the failed coup.
Lukashenko said he will be meeting Putin to discuss the future of Wagner, Belta reported on Thursday. However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that no date had yet been decided and said he could not yet confirm details of what would be on the agenda.
Read more:
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