 "Yevgeny Prigozhin")
The mercenary leader who led a short-lived mutiny against the Kremlin is in Russia and his Wagner troops are in their field camps, the president of Belarus said on Thursday, raising new questions about the deal that ended the extraordinary
challenge to President Putin’s rule. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s claim could not be independently verified, and the Kremlin refused to comment on Yevgeny Prigozhin’s whereabouts.
It was not clear if travelling to Russia would violate the deal, which allowed the Wagner chief to move to Belarus in exchange for ending the rebellion and a promise of amnesty for him and his troops. Few details of the agreement brokered by Lukashenko have emerged. Last week, Lukashenko said the mercenary leader was in Belarus. Russian media later reported he was seen at his offices in St Petersburg, a sign that the deal may have allowed him to finalise his affairs in Russia. On Thursday, Lukashenko told international reporters that the mercenary leader was in St Petersburg and Wagner’s troops were in their camps. He did not specify the location of the camps, but Prigozhin's mercenaries fought alongside Russian forces in eastern Ukraine before their revolt and also have bases on the Russian territory.
Asked about where Prigozhin is, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to comment, but reaffirmed that the deal that ended the mutiny envisaged his move to Belarus.
Lukashenko said his government offered Wagner the use of Belarusian military camps but the company had not made a final decision.
Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg said it appears Belarus is preparing to host large numbers of Wagner militia members over the past week.
