Prigozhin Back in Russia?
So far, the Wagner Group’s chief, Prigozhin, has been presumed to be in exile after the uprising of his fighters in Belarus, as agreed with the Kremlin. However, according to the Belarusian leader Lukashenko, Prigozhin has returned to Russia.
It was one of the conditions set by the Kremlin to the head of the mercenary group after the end of the Wagner uprising about a week and a half ago: Yevgeny Prigozhin was supposed to leave Russia and go into exile. He did so and went to Belarus. However, now it is said that he has returned to Russian territory.
At least that’s what the Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko surprisingly announced. “As for Prigozhin, he is in St. Petersburg. He is not in Belarus,” the state news agency Belta quoted the head of state. According to Lukashenko, the Wagner Group fighters are also not currently in Belarus, although his country is still willing to “accommodate a certain number” of mercenaries, he added.
No confirmation from Prigozhin or Russia
If Lukashenko’s statements are true, the Wagner chief would have returned to his hometown. He has his residence in St. Petersburg, where the headquarters of his business empire “Concord” is also located. However, there is no confirmation of Lukashenko’s statement by Prigozhin himself.
The Kremlin claims it is not informed about Prigozhin’s whereabouts. “No, we do not track the movements of Yevgeny Prigozhin, we lack the means and the will to do so,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, according to the Interfax news agency. Peskov confirmed that the condition for amnesty, namely that Prigozhin had to leave for Belarus, remains in effect.
Prigozhin denies seeking a change of power
Most recently, on June 27, Prigozhin addressed the public via a voice message spread on Telegram. He denied that the Wagner uprising aimed to bring about a change of power in Moscow. He stated that it was only a sign of protest.
At the same time, the mercenary chief emphasized the role of Lukashenko, whose mediation had contributed to the end of the uprising. On the same day the last public message from Prigozhin was posted online, the Belarusian leader announced that the Wagner chief had arrived in his country.
Kremlin had guaranteed impunity for Wagner fighters
On June 24, Prigozhin and his Wagner fighters crossed the border from Ukraine into Russia. In the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, the group took over the headquarters of the Russian army. After about 24 hours of uprising, Prigozhin unexpectedly changed course and ordered his mercenaries back to their camps.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had guaranteed immunity and the opportunity for Prigozhin and his fighters to go into exile in return. Television broadcasts images of house search
Officially, the Russian domestic intelligence service FSB terminated its investigation against Prigozhin three days after the end of the uprising, even though the media had reported the opposite just a day earlier. However, the pressure on the Wagner chief continues: several of his companies have been shut down.
Now, several state and private Russian television channels have released images of the search of Prigozhin’s house in St. Petersburg. The house search took place during the Wagner uprising. According to the images, cash in dollars and rubles, gold bars, numerous weapons, as well as several passports with different names and a wardrobe full of wigs were found.
