Wagner chief Prigozhin is not in Belarus but in Russia, says Belarusian president

By Ceyhun Alizade

ANKARA (AA) - Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is not currently in Belarus, where he was exiled after the mercenary group's short-lived uprising last month, but in St. Petersburg, Russia, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Thursday.

"As for Yevgeny Prigozhin, he is in (Russia's) St. Petersburg. Where is he this morning? Maybe he went to Moscow, maybe somewhere else, but he is not on the territory of Belarus," Lukashenko told reporters during a news conference in the capital Minsk.

Lukashenko said that he sees no risks for Belarus if the paramilitary group fighters are deployed in his country, adding that they can be used for the defense of Belarus.

"As far as I am informed, the fighters – very serious fighters of the Wagner PMC – are in their permanent camps. They are in those camps where they were placed after the withdrawal from the front for recovery, treatment, rest, and so on. There is a normal rotation for such a war. After (fights in Ukraine's) Bakhmut, they were taken to their camp, where they are today.”

He also underlined that the issue of relocation and deployment of the Wagner Group in Belarus has not been resolved yet and it depends on the paramilitary group's management and the Russian authorities.

On June 24, Prigozhin accused the Russian Defense Ministry of attacking its fighters, declared a "March of Justice," and set off toward Moscow.

The Russian Federal Security Service designated Wagner Group's actions "an armed rebellion" and opened a criminal case against Prigozhin, while President Vladimir Putin called the private military company's uprising an act of "treason."

Prigozhin, however, later turned back "to avoid bloodshed" and has since moved to Belarus under a deal brokered by Lukashenko.