A Surprising Return of Wagner Group Leader to Russia… Has Putin Forgiven Him?
The unexpected return of Wagner Group commander Yevgeny Prigozhin to Russia after a short stay in Belarus, while his forces remain in the camps, as reported by the Belarusian news agency.
According to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, today, Thursday, the leader of the Wagner Group is in St. Petersburg, while the fighters of the Wagner Group are present in their permanent camps.
The Belarusian president also revealed an offer made by the Wagner Group regarding the presence of some of their fighters in his country. Regarding the possibility of their rebellion, as happened in Moscow, Lukashenko said, “I don’t think the fighters of the Wagner Group will take up arms against our country,” noting that the problems of redeploying Wagner Group members have not been resolved yet.
At the end of June, Wagner attracted the attention of the whole world, which was closely monitoring a series of alarming events that seemed to threaten the position of Russian President Vladimir Putin for decades when Wagner’s leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, went to Moscow with his forces and took control of military facilities in two Russian cities amid a dispute with military leaders.
Before Lukashenko was able, through successful mediation, to defuse the armed rebellion of Wagner’s forces against Moscow and host Prigozhin in his country.
At that time, the Belarusian president said that his defense minister, Viktor Khreninikov, informed him that he would not object to the presence of a unit like Wagner in the Belarusian army, adding, “We want the Wagner forces to share their war experience with us.”
Earlier this month, Russian state television accused Prigozhin of deviating from his position after receiving billions of public money.
After Prigozhin’s reputation began to fade following a settlement that led to his exile to Belarus, he returned two days ago with a 41-second audio recording he published on Telegram, thanking his supporters for their support in his recent failed rebellion, according to Politico.
He said that his group did not attempt to change the government in Russia but to “fight traitors,” as he claimed.
