Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the private Russian mercenary army known as the Wagner Group, has reached Belarus after fleeing Russia following his short-lived mutiny against top military officials.
The Wagner founder, whose troops have fought on the front lines of Russia's war in Ukraine, turned his sights from Ukraine to Moscow late last week following a demand that his troops join the Russian military. He also claimed there was a Russian strike against his forces. His 25,000 troops briefly occupied the Russian city of Rostov and made it to within roughly 120 miles of Moscow before the Belarusian government announced it had brokered a deal to stop the advance.
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Russian officials said Prigozhin would travel to Belarus to avoid charges, though the investigation being conducted by Russian authorities is continuing.
“I see that Prigozhin is already flying on this plane. Yes, indeed, he is in Belarus today,” Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said, according to Belarusian state television.
“The most dangerous thing, as I understand it, is not what the situation was, but how it could develop and its consequences. I also realized there was a harsh decision taken — to destroy. I suggested Putin not to hurry. Let's talk with Prigozhin, with his commanders,”
the Belarusian leader said later about the negotiations to end the perceived coup attempt.
Both Prigozhin and Russian President Vladimir Putin gave public statements on Monday, giving their own accounts of what occurred over the previous couple of days.
“We didn't march to overthrow Russia's leadership and turned around to avoid spilling the blood of Russian soldiers. We regret that we had to hit Russian aviation. Our march aimed to prevent the destruction of Wagner. We wanted to hold accountable those who made mistakes during the special military operation,” Prigozhin said, according to the Kyiv Post.
For months, the Wagner leader has accused top Russian military officials of treason and of withholding military resources for his troops even as they were leading the fight in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, which went on for many months and became the deadliest battle of the war so far.
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Hours later, Putin gave an address to the nation in which he said, an "armed rebellion would have been suppressed anyway ... Civil solidarity showed that any blackmail and attempts to organize an internal mutiny will end in defeat."
On Tuesday, Russia's Federal Security Service said it will drop the case against the Wagner fighters who participated in the short rebellion.