Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin was reportedly exiled to Belarus after his mercenary group’s brief mutiny against Russian president Vladimir Putin. Later reports suggested that the mercenary group’s boss was seen in Russia’s St. Petersburg. But, an unnamed Pentagon official told The New York Times that Yevgeny Prigozhin was actually in Russia after his failed coup attempt. He may have employed a body double to make it appear as if he fled Russia, the official told NYT.
None of the Wagner troops were sent to Belarus, and most are still in eastern Ukraine, the official claimed. This comes as Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko told reporters that it was unclear if the Wagner fighters would come to Belarus after he previously offered them a desert military base in the country.
“As for Prigozhin, he’s in St Petersburg. He is not on the territory of Belarus,” he said.
Responding to Alexander Lukashenko’s remarks, the Kremlin said it was “not following” Prigozhin’s movements.
“No, we do not follow his movements, we have neither the ability nor the desire to do so,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
So where is Yevgeny Prigozhin?
Yevgeny Prigozhin’s whereabouts remain a mystery, BBC reported. Wagner chief’s private jet flew to Belarus in late June but returned to Russia the same evening, the report claimed adding that it found several flights between St Petersburg and Moscow, although it could not be confirmed if Prigozhin was on board.
Yevgeny Prigozhin launched a coup against Kremlin on June 24 after making several public statements against top Russian defence officials. The mercenary group took control of Rostov-on-Don but did not proceed further saying that they wanted to avoid “shedding Russian blood”.
Vladimir Putin accused Wagner group of treason but Lukashenko claimed to have intervened in the matter and negotiated a peace deal between the sides.
