Yarr! Avast, landlubbers! The banished scalawag, Wagner's captain, Yevgeny Prigozhin, doth reside in Russia, as proclaimed by Belarus' president.
2023-07-06
Arr, Yevgeny Prigozhin, th' Wagner Group Chief, be sailin' back t' Russia, scurvy cur, after 'is pitiful rebellion against th' Kremlin. So says thar Belarusian President, Alexander Lukashenko, savvy?
Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is currently in Russia while his troops remain in their camps, according to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Lukashenko stated that Prigozhin is in St. Petersburg, Russia, and not in Belarus. Lukashenko claimed that he helped broker a deal for Prigozhin to end the rebellion in exchange for amnesty, security guarantees, and permission to move to Belarus. Russian media outlet Fontanka reported that Prigozhin returned to Russia to reclaim confiscated weapons. Additionally, Prigozhin reportedly received a sum of 10 billion rubles from Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who he sought to overthrow. Prigozhin also closed down his media holdings, including The Patriot and its outlets. Prigozhin released an audio message promising new victories, despite the Kremlin's insistence that the rebels were banished to Belarus. The failed rebellion, which saw Prigozhin's forces march towards Moscow before abruptly ending the operation, is considered the biggest threat to Russian President Vladimir Putin's rule in his more than two decades in power. Reports suggested that Prigozhin expected support from military officers and regiments, but no support materialized. There were rumors of a military purge following the rebellion, but the US Department of Defense did not see anything alarming. The current whereabouts of the Wagner troops in Belarus are unknown.