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Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko claimed Tuesday that Yevgeniy Prigozhin has arrived in Belarus, the country’s state-run news agency reported. Flight data showed a Russian-registered jet linked to the Wagner Group leader flying into Minsk, the Belarusian capital.
The deal between Moscow and Wagner Group mercenary fighters, who launched a brief rebellion over the weekend, appeared to be holding. Preparations are in place for the Wagner Group to hand over heavy military equipment to the Russian military, while the criminal case against mutineers has been closed, Russia’s Defense Ministry and security agency said Tuesday.
Lukashenko described the rebellion in Russia as “painful to watch” and said he had ordered his army to be on “full combat readiness.” The mutiny by Wagner forces was seen as an extraordinary challenge to President Vladimir Putin’s authority — but the insurrection was aborted after Lukashenko, a Putin ally, claimed to have brokered a deal between the two sides. The accord involved Prigozhin halting his forces’ march on Moscow in return for passage to Belarus and the dropping of charges against him.
Lukashenko said he tried to convince Prigozhin in a phone call Saturday to call off the rebellion, according to the Belarusian leader in comments published by Belarusian state media. Lukashenko said the Wagner chief seemed “half-crazed,” was swearing “was 10 times more than normal,” and demanded that Russian officials including Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu be handed over to him.
Meanwhile, Russian missiles struck a popular area in the city center of Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine, killing at least four and injuring 42, including an 8-month-old and three foreigners, Ukraine’s Office of the Prosecutor General and Kramatorsk City Council said. The pizza restaurant hit in the strikes was frequented by members of the military and foreign journalists. “Russia targeted places of crowding,” Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said.
Here’s the latest on the war and its ripple effects across the globe.
Wagner rebellion aftermath
The armed insurrection shattered the carefully crafted myth that Putin represented stability and strength. Members of Moscow business and political circles were grappling with how it was possible for Wagner to seize control of a Russian command center in the city of Rostov-on-Don so easily. Many wondered whether Putin could recover, and some even suggested that a search for his successor could be underway.
Alex Horton contributed to this report.
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