Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner brigade, is back in Russia and his mercenaries are still camped out where they were before the failed coup, according to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
In a meeting with journalists, Mr. Lukashenko – who last month managed to broker an agreement to end the armed mutiny – said “Putin’s chef” is no longer on Belarusian territory, but might be in St. Petersburg, or even in the capital Moscow. According to a famous flight-monitoring Web site, a business plane traced to Prigozhin left St. Petersburg for Moscow on Wednesday and then headed for southern Russia on Thursday.
Prigozhin’s landing in St. Petersburg may have been part of the agreements reached with the Kremlin, which might have allowed him to conclude his business deals in the former czarist capital (which is the center of the business empire built by the head of Wagner). Some Russian media claim that Prigozhin was given permission to recover money seized from him during searches of his offices and a small collection of firearms he allegedly kept in his Petersburg home.
Videos and pictures of Prigozhin’s lavish residence and some of his personal belongings, including a set of colorful wigs, were published by the Russian website Fontanka.
Lukashenko also said that he will meet with Putin soon to discuss precisely the chaotic situation evolving around Prigozhin’s character. Lukashenko expressed confidence that the Russian leader will not “wipe him out” and that Prigozhin will remain “absolutely free.”
The remarks emphasized the considerable uncertainty surrounding the terms and execution of the agreement that ended the mutiny, considered the most serious internal threat ever to Vladimir Putin’s power.
