The impunity of Prigozhin and his mercenaries was part of the agreement that stopped the uprising: now the internal secret service has stopped investigating. Belarusian rulers also commented on the events for the first time.
Russia’s domestic intelligence agency, the FSB, has dropped criminal proceedings against Yevgeny Prigozhin and his private Wagner army, President Vladimir Putin has announced. “It has been proven that the participants in the June 24 armed uprising stopped their criminal activities,” the intelligence agency said. For this reason and other “related circumstances”, the case was closed.
The Kremlin announced on Saturday that criminal investigations into Prigozhin would be ended as part of a deal that ended the Wagner uprising. However, Russian media reported on Monday that the investigation into Prigozhin will continue.
Another part of the agreement was that Prigozhin should go into exile in Belarus. However, his whereabouts remain unclear. The independent project Belarussky Hayun, which specializes in monitoring military activities, recently published information that Prigozhin’s private plane landed at a military airfield outside the Belarusian capital of Minsk on Tuesday morning. It is unclear if Chief Wagner was on board.
Lukashenko warns of the consequences of Russia’s collapse
According to Putin, the pilots who attacked Wagner’s column on its march towards Moscow were also killed in the armed uprising on Saturday. Helicopters and one plane were shot down. In a speech on Monday evening, the Russian president called those behind the uprising “traitors”. He gave the mercenaries a choice: go to Belarus, return to their families, or join the Russian army.
At the same time, in the speech, Putin thanked Belarusian Governor Alexander Lukashenko for mediating the dispute. The official Belarusian News Agency quoted Bilta Lukashenko as saying that the latter also commented on the events that took place over the weekend, which was “full of pain for the entire Belarusian people.”
But according to Belarusian news agencies, the governor has now admitted that he believes the tensions were mismanaged. The agencies quoted Lukashenko as saying, “The situation moved away from us, and we thought it would resolve itself, but it did not.” “There are no heroes in this situation.” Its specific role in resolving the conflict remains unclear.
Lukashenko warned of the danger of Russia’s collapse. “If Russia collapses, we will be left in ruins, and we will all perish.” During the Wagner uprising, he immediately put his country’s armed forces on alert. The army, police and special units reached “full combat readiness” within one day.
Wagner-military equipment He was handed over to the Russian army
The month-long power struggle between the commander of the mercenary force and the Russian military leadership escalated on Friday night. Wagner fighters invaded Russia from Ukraine – Prigozhin said the goal was to overthrow the military leadership in Moscow. In Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia, troops have taken control of the Russian army’s headquarters there. About 24 hours into the uprising, he took a sudden turn on Saturday evening and ordered his mercenaries back to their camps.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the “heavy” military equipment of the Wagner Forces will now be handed over to the Russian army. “Preparations are underway for the delivery of heavy Wagner military equipment to active units of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation,” the ministry said in a statement.
