Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko stated that the head of the private military group Wagner Yevgeny Prigozhin is actually in Russia, not in Belarus.
President Lukashenko on Thursday told reporters in Minsk, that Yevgeny Prigozhin is in Russia, and his fighters are in their camps.
“Wagner group fighters are in their bases, and Prigozhin is in St. Petersburg, probably he may have gone to Moscow, but he is not in Belarusian territory.”
Lukashenko further added that the deployment of Wagner Group fighters to Belarus completely depends on the military company and Russian authorities’ decision.
Following the aborted mutiny in Russia, Dmitry Peskov, the spokesperson of Kremlin announced that Wagner Group Chief Yevgeny Prigozhin would move to Belarus with Lukashenko’s mediation.
Dmitry Peskov had said that the criminal case against Yevgeny Prigozhin would be dropped.
Similarly, to avoid bloodshed and civil war in Russia, Prigozhin ordered his forces to retreat and he then moved to Belarus.
Lukashenko’s remarks came after Russian media reports said Prigozhin was spotted in St. Petersburg, with his presence in the second-largest Russian city seen as part of agreements allowing him to finalize his affairs there.
Meanwhile, Reuters had reported that a fighter jet belonging to Prigozhin entered Belarus three days after the riot against Moscow.
The Belarusian President said he had convinced Russian President Vladimir Putin not to kill Wagner Group Chief.
Independent Russian news outlets have reported in recent days that several camps were already being set up in Belarus, including one near Asipovichy, with an area of 24,000 square meters, with a capacity of 8,000 beds.
