Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Thursday that the leader of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, is no longer in Belarus but back in Russia. Prigozhin agreed to a move to neighboring Belarus after staging a failed uprising against Russian defense officials. “As for Prigozhin, he is in St. Petersburg. It is not on the territory of Belarus,” Lukashenko told state news agency BelTA, adding that Prigozhin arrived in Belarus on June 27 but has since left. The Washington Post has not been able to independently verify his claims.
In Ukraine, the death toll from a rocket attack in the western city of Lviv has risen to at least four, injuring 34 people, regional governor Maksym Kozytskyi told Telegram on Thursday after explosions rocked the city. Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi described it as the largest attack on the city’s civilian infrastructure since the beginning of the war. Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska also condemned the attack, stating: Video of the damage, calling it “another night terror” that “targeted civilians far from the front lines.”
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As both sides ramped up their rhetoric, an analysis released Tuesday by the Institute for the Study of War said Moscow was unlikely to bring about a nuclear catastrophe. The escalation of provocative remarks is likely aimed at accusing Ukraine of irresponsible behavior near the power plant as NATO prepares for a meeting next week, the DC-based think tank said.