Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Thursday, July 6, that the head of the Wagner paramilitary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, remains “freely” In Russia, despite the agreement providing for his departure to Belarus after his aborted rebellion on 24 June.
After the Belarusian president’s press conference, the Kremlin confirmed Thursday that it is not watching Wagner’s boss. We don’t follow his movements.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin is communicating ” mostly “ With his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko.
sequel after announcement
Yevgeny Prigogine, Putin’s Black Baron
As for Prigozhin, he is in St. Petersburg. Not on Belarusian soil., detailed the President of Belarus during this press conference, claiming that he had a telephone conversation with the head of Wagner on Wednesday. According to him, so are the militia fighters “in their camps” not in Belarus, Currently. Whether [le gouvernement russe et le groupe Wagner] They deemed it necessary to deploy a number of Wagner fighters to Belarus for rest or training […] Then I will implement my decision. To welcome them, he added. “I don’t think Wagner will revolt and turn its weapons on Belarus.”
“What will happen to him next? Do you think Putin is upset and will kill him tomorrow? No, this will not happen. »
Regarding the transfer of Russian nuclear weapons to Belarus, the Belarusian president stressed that they will only be used for purposes “defensive purposes”. We do not plan to attack anyone with nuclear weapons.He said as he promised an answer “direct” If his country was attacked.
rebellion in its infancy
The rebellion of the paramilitary group, led on June 24, shook the Russian power, in the midst of the Russo-Ukrainian conflict.
For several hours, Wagner fighters occupied the headquarters of the Russian army in Rostov-on-Don (southwest) and drove several hundred kilometers towards Moscow.
How the Wagner Rebellion exposed Putin’s cracks in power
The rebellion ended the same night with an agreement providing for Yevgeny Prigogine’s departure from Belarus, but the exact location of the latter has not been known since then. He has not spoken publicly since June 26. The Wagner leader maintained that his uprising was not aimed at overthrowing power, but to save his militia from being disbanded by the Russian General Staff, which he accuses of incompetence in the conflict in Ukraine.
