The video is said to have first been published on a Telegram channel that supports the Wagner group, and then shared on Prigozhin’s own Telegram channel.
The video clip is cloudy and filmed in the dark and you can just make out what you think might be the profile of the leader, but the voice is similar to Prigozhin’s.
Criticizes the Ministry of Defence
In the clip, the man, who sounds and looks like Prigozhin, can be heard saying, among other things:
– Welcome! I am pleased to welcome you all. Welcome to the Belarusian country! We fought with dignity! We have done a lot for Russia. What is going on at the front is a shame that we don’t need to get involved in.
The video criticizes the Russian Defense Ministry’s planning and execution of military operations in Ukraine and calls on soldiers not to fight in Ukraine for the time being.
Could be a temporary visit
– What is happening now at the front is a shame that we do not have to participate in. We have to wait for the moment when we can prove ourselves. Therefore, a decision was made that we would be stationed here in Belarus for some time. I am sure that during this time we will make the Belarusian army the second largest in the world. And if necessary, we will defend them, if it comes to that stage, said the man said to be the Wagner leader.
Furthermore, he goes on to say that the stay in Belarus may be temporary and urges his soldiers to prepare to travel on.
– We should prepare, get better and go on another trip to Africa,” he says. “Maybe we’ll come back [till Ukraina] when we know we won’t be asked to embarrass ourselves.
Sky News has verified that the clip was recorded at the Tsel military base in southern Belarus. And according to CNN, metadata shows it was recorded early morning on Wednesday, July 19.
On Tuesday, satellite images revealed that a convoy of military vehicles linked to the Wagner Army had just arrived at the military base in Tsel, according to BBC.