The leader of Russia’s 24-hour mutiny and Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has arrived in Belarus. President Alexander Lukashenko has confirmed this, claiming credit in arranging his exile.
Prigozhin’s whereabouts have been unknown since he was filmed driving off in southern Russia on Saturday night.
Lukashenko is said to have brokered a deal which narrowly prevented Wagner mercenaries from marching on Moscow after the private army mutinied against Russia’s military leaders, reports the BBC.
Lukashenko said there would be no Wagner recruitment points in Belarus but the nation’s citizens may join the group and issued an ominous warning that those who make such a decision should realize the „danger of death” for the job.
Lukashenko also asked that he not be called „a mediator”, arguing he was „a participant” because it was a common problem for Russia and Belarus, reports Al Jazeera. Commenting on reasons that led to the mutiny, the Belarusian leader said it was an „interpersonal conflict” between Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Prigozhin „escalated into this fight”, not mentioning the name of Vladimir Putin.
He said he offered the mercenary group an abandoned military site where they could „put their tents while thinking what to do next”.
Under the deal that brought an end to the mutiny, Prigozhin has been promised security and the Russian criminal case against Wagner has been dropped.
Moscow will transfer the mercenaries’ heavy weapons into the regular military and the fighters have been told they can either sign regular army contracts, go home or head to Belarus.
Nato members Poland, Latvia and Lithuania have expressed worry that Wagner’s arrival in Belarus could spell trouble for them as neighbours. Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance was ready to defend itself against any threat from „Moscow or Minsk” and would agree to strengthen its defences at a meeting in Lithuania next week – focusing particularly on nations bordering Belarus.
Incidentally or not, Russia moved tactical nuclear weapons into Belarus in recent weeks, with President Putin saying they would only be used if Russian territory was threatened.
Putin’s reaction was to encourage an array of Russian security forces assembled in a Kremlin square by stating that they had defended their motherland, „de facto stopping a civil war in its tracks”.
Putin also revealed that Prigozhin’s private army had been fully funded by the state, with $1bn spent on salaries and bonuses in 12 months. A further $1bn went to Mr Prigozhin’s Concord catering firm for feeding the military.
Russia academic Mark Galeotti analyses that Lukashenko acted as a useful intermediary for President Putin, who could now seek to keep Prigozhin on side to manage his mercenary forces in Africa.
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