Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko confirmed on Tuesday that Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the mercenary group Wagner, has arrived in Belarus after a short-lived armed mutiny in Russia.
Prigozhin91裸聊视频檚 exile in Belarus had been announced by the Kremlin announced earlier as part of the deal that ended the rebellion.
Lukashenko on Tuesday said Prigozhin has moved to Belarus and he and some of his troops would be welcome to stay in Belarus 91裸聊视频渇or some time91裸聊视频� at their own expense.
Russian authorities said Tuesday they have closed a criminal investigation into the aborted led by the mercenary chief and are pressing no charges against him or his troops.
The Federal Security Service, or FSB, said its investigation found that those involved in the mutiny, which lasted less than 24 hours after Prigozhin declared it Friday, 91裸聊视频渃eased activities directed at committing the crime,91裸聊视频� so the case would not be pursued.
It was the latest twist in a series of stunning events that have brought the gravest threat so far to President Vladimir Putin91裸聊视频檚 grip on power amid the 16-month-old .
Over the weekend, the Kremlin pledged not to prosecute Prigozhin and his fighters after he stopped the revolt on Saturday, even though Putin had branded them as traitors and authorities rushed to fortify Moscow91裸聊视频檚 defenses as the mutineers approached the capital.
The charge of mounting an armed mutiny is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Prigozhin escaping prosecution poses a stark contrast to how the Kremlin has treated those staging anti-government protests in Russia, where have gotten long sentences in notoriously harsh penal colonies.
The whereabouts of Prigozhin remained a mystery Tuesday. The Kremlin has said he would be exiled to neighboring Belarus, but neither he nor have confirmed that.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he had no information on the 62-year-old .
An independent Belarusian military monitoring project Belaruski Hajun said a business jet that Prigozhin reportedly uses landed near Minsk on Tuesday morning. The media team for Prigozhin did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Belarus91裸聊视频� authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko, a close Putin ally who brokered a deal with Prigozhin to stop the uprising, didn91裸聊视频檛 immediately address Prigozhin91裸聊视频檚 fate in a speech Tuesday.
Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus with an iron hand for 29 years, relentlessly stifling dissent and relying on Russian subsidies and political support, portrayed the uprising as the latest development in a clash between Prigozhin and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. Their long-simmering personal feud has at times boiled over, and Prigozhin has said the revolt aimed to unseat Shoigu, not Putin.
Lukashenko framed the insurrection as a significant menace, saying he put Belarus91裸聊视频� armed forces on a combat footing as the mutiny unfolded.
Lukashenko said he had urged Putin not to be hasty in his response, adding that a conflict with Wagner could have spiraled out of control.
Like Putin, Lukashenko couched the Ukraine war in terms of an existential threat to Russia, saying: 91裸聊视频淚f Russia collapses, we all will perish under the debris.91裸聊视频�
Peskov refused to disclose any details about the Kremlin91裸聊视频檚 deal with the Wagner chief. He said only that Putin had provided Prigozhin with 91裸聊视频渃ertain promises 91裸聊视频� certain guarantees,91裸聊视频� with the aim of avoiding a 91裸聊视频渨orst-case scenario.91裸聊视频�
The mercenaries shot down at least six Russian helicopters and a military communications plane as they advanced on Moscow, according to Russian news reports. The Defense Ministry didn91裸聊视频檛 release any information about casualties, but media reports said at least a dozen airmen were killed.
Asked why the rebels were allowed to get as close as about 200 kilometers (about 125 miles) from Moscow without facing any serious resistance, National Guard chief Viktor Zolotov said authorities tried to assemble a strong force capable of stopping the onslaught.
91裸聊视频淲e concentrated our forces in one fist closer to Moscow,91裸聊视频� he told reporters. 91裸聊视频淚f we spread them thin, they would have come like a knife through butter.91裸聊视频�
Zolotov also said the National Guard lacks battle tanks and other heavy weapons and now would get them.
In a nationally televised address Monday night, Putin again blasted organizers of the rebellion as traitors who played into the hands of and its allies. Although critical of Prigozhin, Putin praised Wagner troops91裸聊视频� action in Ukraine and credited those who 91裸聊视频渄idn91裸聊视频檛 engage in fratricidal bloodshed and stopped on the brink.91裸聊视频�
That was 91裸聊视频渓ikely in an effort to retain them91裸聊视频� in the fight in Ukraine because Moscow needs 91裸聊视频渢rained and effective manpower91裸聊视频� as it faces a Ukrainian counteroffensive, according to a Washington-based think tank.
The Institute for the Study of War also noted the break between Putin and Prigozhin is likely beyond repair and that providing the Wagner chief and his loyalists with Belarus as an apparent safe haven could be a trap.
Prigozhin91裸聊视频檚 short-lived insurrection rattled Russia91裸聊视频檚 leadership, and Putin sought to .
In his speech Monday, he criticized the uprising91裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频渙rganizers,91裸聊视频� without naming Prigozhin. He also praised Russian unity in the face of the crisis, as well as rank-and-file Wagner fighters for not letting the situation descend into 91裸聊视频渕ajor bloodshed.91裸聊视频�
Putin returned to this theme in a Kremlin speech Tuesday 91裸聊视频� his third in four days 91裸聊视频� to soldiers and law enforcement officers, praising them for averting 91裸聊视频渁 civil war.91裸聊视频� He again declared that the army and people didn91裸聊视频檛 support the mutiny, but avoided mentioning Prigozhin by name.
As part of the effort to cement Putin91裸聊视频檚 authority following the chaotic response to the mutiny, the ceremony featured Putin walking down the red-carpeted stairs of the Kremlin91裸聊视频檚 15th century white-stone Palace of Facets to address a lineup of troops.
Putin mentioned the casualties and honored them with a moment of silence.
91裸聊视频淧ilots, our combat comrades, died while confronting the mutiny,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淭hey didn91裸聊视频檛 waver and fulfilled the orders and their military duty with dignity.91裸聊视频�
Putin91裸聊视频檚 mention of the deaths comes amid angry statements from some Russian war bloggers and patriotic activists who vented outrage about Prigozhin and his troops not getting punished for killing the airmen. Prigozhin voiced regret for the deaths in an audio statement Monday, but said Wagner troops fired because they were getting bombed.
In another show of projecting authority, Putin was shown meeting Monday night with top security, law enforcement and military officials, including Shoigu.
Putin thanked his team for their work over the weekend, implying support for the embattled Shoigu. Earlier, authorities released video of Shoigu reviewing troops in Ukraine.
In his defiant statement Monday, Prigozhin taunted the Russian military but said he hadn91裸聊视频檛 been seeking to stage a coup against Putin.
It isn91裸聊视频檛 clear whether he will be able to keep his mercenary force. Putin has offered Prigozhin91裸聊视频檚 fighters to either come under Russia91裸聊视频檚 Defense Ministry91裸聊视频檚 command, leave service or go to Belarus.
Prigozhin said, without elaborating, that the Belarusian leadership proposed solutions that would allow Wagner to operate 91裸聊视频渋n a legal jurisdiction,91裸聊视频� but it was unclear what that meant.
Lukashenko said there is no reason to fear Wagner91裸聊视频檚 presence in his country, though in Russia there have been recent incidents of Wagner-recruited convicts being .
The Wagner troops have 91裸聊视频減riceless91裸聊视频� military knowledge and experience they can share with Belarus, Lukashenko said during a meeting with his defense minister, including tactics and weapons.
But exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who challenged Lukashenko in a 2020 election that was widely seen as fraudulent and triggered mass protests, said Wagner troops will threaten the country and its neighbors.
91裸聊视频淏elarusians don91裸聊视频檛 welcome war criminal Prigozhin,91裸聊视频� she told The Associated Press. 91裸聊视频淚f Wagner sets up military bases on our territory, it will pose a new threat to our sovereignty and our neighbors.91裸聊视频�
READ ALSO:
