Prigozhin is in Russia, Lukashenko says, in contrast with his earlier claims.
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MINSK, Belarus — The mercenary leader Yevgeny V. Prigozhin is in Russia, the leader of Belarus said on Thursday, adding to the questions swirling around Mr. Prigozhin’s fate nearly two weeks after he called off his stunning armed rebellion against Moscow’s military leadership.
In a rare interview session with reporters at Independence Palace, the autocratic leader of Belarus, Aleksandr G. Lukashenko, said that Mr. Prigozhin was in his native city of St. Petersburg as of Thursday morning, in contrast with statements he made days after the mutiny, when he said that the head of the Wagner paramilitary forces had arrived in Belarus. Mr. Prigozhin has not been seen in public since the rebellion nearly two weeks ago.
A Pentagon official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation later confirmed that Mr. Prigozhin had been in Russia, between Moscow and St. Petersburg, during most of the period since the mutiny. The official said it was unclear if Mr. Prigozhin had ever gone to Belarus because he apparently uses body doubles to mask his movements.
Mr. Lukashenko intervened late last month in the armed mutiny led by Mr. Prigozhin, striking a deal with the Wagner leader that saw him stand down and withdraw his forces in exchange for amnesty for his fighters, and safe passage to Belarus for himself. Mr. Prigozhin’s apparent presence in Russia raises questions about the future of the deal.
Mr. Lukashenko told journalists that Mr. Prigozhin was “not on the territory of Belarus,” nor were Wagner troops, who he said remained in their “permanent camps,” believed to be in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine.
The comments added to the confusion surrounding the aftermath of the most dramatic challenge to President Vladimir V. Putin’s authority in his 23 years in power. The Kremlin refused to comment on Mr. Lukashenko’s claims, telling reporters on Thursday that it was unaware of Mr. Prigozhin’s whereabouts.
“We don’t follow his movements. We have neither the ability nor the desire to do so,” said Dmitri S. Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman.
The independent St. Petersburg news outlet Fontanka, which broke some of the earliest stories about Mr. Prigozhin, reported that the mercenary boss was in St. Petersburg earlier this week, collecting weapons that Russian authorities seized from his country house during the mutiny.
During the night between Tuesday and Wednesday, Mr. Prigozhin arrived at the city’s Federal Security Services building in a 7 Series BMW and received a cache of carbines, automatic rifles and pistols that the authorities had taken from his country residence, Fontanka reported. Among the guns returned to Mr. Prigozhin was a Glock pistol awarded to him by the Russian defense minister, Sergei K. Shoigu, before the official became the object of the mercenary chief’s ire, the Russian media outlet said.
Mr. Lukashenko also signaled that at least some of Wagner’s fighting force — which was instrumental in Russia’s capture of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut this spring — could stay intact. He called the group Russia’s “most powerful unit,” although he said that “the main question of where Wagner will be deployed and what will it do — it doesn’t depend on me; it depends on the leadership of Russia.”
Mr. Lukashenko said that he had spoken to Mr. Prigozhin on Wednesday, and that Wagner would continue to “fulfill its duties to Russia for as long as it can.” He said Mr. Prigozhin was “a free man, but what will happen later, I don’t know.”
He said he did not expect that Mr. Putin would seek immediate vengeance for the failed mutiny. “If you think that Putin is so malicious and vindictive that he will ‘kill’ Prigozhin tomorrow — no, this will not happen,” he said.
Mr. Lukashenko previously said that he had offered Wagner fighters an “abandoned” military base, and satellite images verified by The New York Times last week showed new temporary structures being built at a deserted base about 80 miles from Minsk, the Belarusian capital. But on Thursday, Mr. Lukashenko appeared less definitive about the possible presence of Wagner troops in Belarus.
“Whether they will come here, and if so, how many of them will come, we will decide in the future,” he said.
Mr. Lukashenko said any Wagner units in Belarus could be called upon to defend the country, and that the group’s agreement to fight for Belarus in the event of a war was the main condition for granting it permission to relocate to the country.
“If we must activate this unit for the defense of the nation, then it will be immediately activated,” he said. “And their experience will be in high demand.”
The Pentagon official said there was no sign that any Wagner fighters were in Belarus and that most appeared to still be at their garrison in eastern Ukraine. There was little evidence that many were joining the Russian military, the official said.
After the rebellion in Russia late last month, Mr. Lukashenko positioned himself as a power broker who had helped avert a crisis, even as he has become increasingly isolated from the rest of the world. Viewed by the West as a subordinate under the Kremlin’s control, Mr. Lukashenko appears to be trying to burnish his image as a key player in resolving one of the biggest crises of Mr. Putin’s tenure as Russia’s leader.
By granting an interview session with a small group of reporters at his presidential palace on Thursday, Mr. Lukashenko may be hoping to establish a measure of independence from his benefactors in Moscow, while possibly getting a boost at home, with an electorate more interested in peace than joining Mr. Putin’s war in Ukraine.
Anatoly Kurmanaev, Ivan Nechepurenko, Eric Schmitt and Paul Sonne contributed reporting.
— Valerie Hopkins
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