June 27, 2023
Updated 47 minutes ago
Image source: Handbook of the Belarusian Presidency
picture description,
Alexander Lukashenko on Saturday told his own version of how the mutiny ended
The leader of the 24-hour mutiny in Russia, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has arrived in Belarus three days after his Wagner mercenary group’s mutiny ended 200 km (125 miles) south of Moscow.
“Yes, in fact he is in Belarus today,” announced the head of state Alexander Lukashenko, claiming that he had arranged his exile.
Mr Prigozhin’s whereabouts have been a mystery since he was filmed driving away in southern Russia on Saturday night.
His private jet flew to the Belarusian capital of Minsk on Tuesday.
Mr Lukashenko said the Wagner mercenaries were offered an abandoned military base if they wanted to join their leader: “There’s a fence, everything is in place, set up your tents.”
As part of the deal that ended the mutiny, Mr. Prigozhin was promised safety and the Russian criminal case against Wagner was dropped.
Moscow is preparing to transfer the mercenaries’ heavy weapons into the regular military, and fighters have been told they can either sign regular army contracts, go home, or head to Belarus.
NATO members Poland, Latvia and Lithuania have warned that Wagner’s arrival in Belarus could spell trouble for them as neighbors. A Lithuanian presidential aide said the mercenaries were dangerous as they could take part in sabotage and infiltration operations.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said at a press conference that if Wagner were deployed to Belarus, “all neighboring countries would face an even greater risk of instability.”
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance was ready to defend itself against any threat from “Moscow or Minsk” and would agree on strengthening its defenses at a meeting in Lithuania next week.
He said that special attention is paid to the countries bordering Belarus. “We sent a clear message to Moscow and Minsk that NATO is there to protect every ally and every inch of NATO territory.”
Russia has moved tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus in recent weeks. President Putin said they would only be used when Russian territory was threatened.
According to Katia Glod from the European Leadership Network, Belarusian public opinion is also very concerned. “Obviously they don’t want a criminal like Prigozhin in Belarus,” she said.
Mr. Lukashenko merely said that the Wagner supporters could help the Belarusian military by sharing their experiences on tactics and weapons.
The ease of the mutineers in taking control of the city of Rostov-on-Don and then pushing this far north without much resistance has exposed major weaknesses in the Kremlin’s security control in Russia after 23 years of Putin’s rule.
Image Credit: ARKADY BUDNITSKY/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock
picture description,
Wagner fighters were able to take control of Rostov without a shot being fired
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed claims that Friday and Saturday’s events had weakened his position in power as “hysteria.”
But then President Putin himself told a group of Russian security forces gathered in a Kremlin square that by defending their motherland they had “de facto brought a civil war to a standstill”.
The uprising was even more alarming when Mr Putin revealed that Mr Prigozhin’s private army was fully funded by the state and spent $1 billion on salaries and bonuses in 12 months. Another billion dollars went to Mr. Prigozhin’s catering company Concord to feed the military.
The Russian leader admitted that pilots lost their lives “fighting the mutineers” in the latest attempt to patch the narrative of some tumultuous days rocking the Kremlin.
According to unconfirmed reports, six military helicopters and one Ilyushin 22-M command plane were shot down by the mutineers. Some wreckage has been sighted, but the number of victims is unclear.
Mr Prigozhin also accused the Russian military of carrying out a rocket attack on his men on Friday that killed 30 people. However, no evidence of this has been seen.
“We covered 780 km in one day,” he said on Monday. “Not a single soldier was killed on the ground. We’re sorry we had to attack planes, but they hit us with bombs and rockets.”
Videos showed the Wagner convoy being bombed from the air on Saturday as it headed north in civilian traffic in the southern Voronezh region.
Whatever the truth of how 24 hours of chaos ended, a lengthy version was presented Tuesday by Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus since 1994 and is widely believed to have rigged the 2020 elections to to keep power.
“I said to Putin: We could waste.” [Prigozhin], No problem. If not on the first try, then on the second. “I told him, ‘Don’t do that,'” he told security officials.
He said he offered to call Mr. Prigozhin, after which Mr. Putin reportedly said, “Look, Sasha.” [Alexander]it’s pointless, he doesn’t even pick up the phone and doesn’t want to talk to anyone.”
“Give me his number,” he continued. “[Putin] said: “Most likely the FSB.” [Russian Federal Security Service] have his number’.”
video caption,
Watch: The day the Wagner boss went rogue… in 96 seconds
Describing his conversation with Mr Prigozhin, Mr Lukashenko said the mercenary boss had been in a state of euphoria up to that point due to Wagner’s success.
According to the Belarusian leader, Mr. Prigozhin told him: “We want justice, they want to strangle us, we will go to Moscow.”
“I’ll tell him you’ll be crushed halfway like a bug.”
Russian scientist Mark Galeotti said the Belarusian leader has acted as a useful go-between for President Putin, who can now try to keep Mr Prigozhin by his side to manage his mercenary forces in Africa.
Katia Glod said that Belarusians were focused on the extent to which the crisis had weakened Vladimir Putin, as that would mean a weakened Alexander Lukashenko as well.
“The two pillars of Lukashenko are the Kremlin and violence [Belarus] Security services obeying Lukashenko’s orders,” she said. “In the short term it could mean more repression as Lukashenko feels weaker. If the Kremlin seems less reliable as a support, that could be good news in the long run.”