The leader of Belarus confirmed on Midsummer that the whereabouts of Wagner leader Yevgeni Prigozhin, who started the rebellion, is in Belarus.
Belarus wants the leaders of the Wagner forces to share their experience, says the president of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko According to Belta, the official news and information agency of Belarus.
Lukashenko spoke three days after he said he had made a deal with the leader of the Wagner group Yevgeny Prigozhin with to end the rebellion in Russia.
President of Russia Vladimir Putin said Monday that the Wagner fighters would be given the option of moving to Belarus or joining the Russian military.
Lukashenko said in his speech today that the Wagner forces are not feared in Belarus and they are going to be kept a close eye on.
Later Lukashenko reported that an empty military base has been handed over to Wagner’s troops arriving in the country, reported the country’s state news agency Belta.
Lukashenko denied that Belarus would build camps for Wagner’s soldiers. According to him, however, the Wagnerians are ready to accommodate if they so wish.
On Monday, the Russian media of independent journalists Vertska reported that camps are being built in Belarus for thousands of Wagner soldiers. According to Verstka, one of the camps to be built could accommodate 8,000 fighters.
In his speech, Lukashenko also said that he ordered the country’s armed forces to be combat ready last weekend.
According to him, the “collapse of Russia” would also mean “our death”, which the Western countries would take advantage of.
Reprimands for Putin as well
Lukashenko let it be understood that the tightening situation in Russia was not noticed, but Russian President Vladimir Putin had not handled the conflict well or in time either.
The dispute between Wagner and the Russian army had been escalating for months, with Prigozhin making increasingly disapproving statements towards the army generals.
According to the deal brokered by Lukashenka, Wagner director Prigozhin was expected to move to Belarus. Lukashenko revealed that Prigozhin was in Belarus after his speech. Earlier today, the Kremlin said Prigozhin’s whereabouts were unknown.
According to experts, some of Russia’s “siloviki”, i.e. members of the Russian security apparatus, and their close circle would also be dissatisfied with Putin, because he has not dealt with the conflict quickly enough.
of the Russian state news agency Tass reported the speech of the leader of Belarus, but omitted to mention the name of the leader of the Wagner forces and Lukashenko’s remark about Putin’s way of handling the situation last weekend.
Updated at 17:04: Camps in Belarus.
Source: Reuters, AFP