MINSK, Belarus — Mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said Thursday in Russia, adding to questions swirling about Mr. Prigozhin’s fate nearly two weeks after his spectacular armed rebellion against Moscow’s military leadership was called off.
In a rare interview session with reporters at the Palace of Independence, Belarusian President Alexander G. Lukashenko said Mr. Prigozhin was in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg as of Thursday morning, contrary to statements he made days after the insurrection, when he said the commander of Wagner’s paramilitary forces Arrived in Belarus. None of Mr. Lukashenko’s claims have been verified, and Mr. Prigozhin has not been seen in public since the mutiny nearly two weeks ago.
Mr. Lukashenko said Mr. Prigozhin “was not on the territory of Belarus,” and Wagner’s forces, which he said had remained in their “permanent camps,” are not believed to be in eastern Ukraine’s Luhansk region.
The Kremlin declined to comment on Mr. Lukashenko’s allegations, telling reporters on Thursday that it was not aware of Mr. Prigozhin’s whereabouts. “We don’t follow his moves. We have neither the ability nor the desire to do this,” Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said.
Mr. Lukashenko also indicated that some of Wagner’s fighting force — which was instrumental in Russia’s capture of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut this spring — could remain intact. He described the group as “the most powerful unit in Russia”, although he said that “the main question of where Wagner is deployed and what it will do – does not depend on me; it depends on the leadership of Russia”.
Mr. Lukashenko was speaking in the aftermath of some of the most dramatic political chaos in Russia since President Vladimir Putin came to power more than two decades ago. The Belarusian autocrat intervened in the armed rebellion led by Mr. Prigozhin, striking a deal with the Wagner leader that made him stand down and withdraw his forces in exchange for amnesty for his fighters, and safe passage to Belarus.
Mr. Lukashenko said he spoke to Mr. Prigozhin on Wednesday, and that Wagner would continue to “fulfill his duties to Russia for as long as possible.” Mr. Prigozhin, he said, was “a free man, but what will happen later, I don’t know.”
He said he did not expect Putin to seek immediate revenge for the failed rebellion. “If you think that Putin is so insidious and decisive that tomorrow he will kill Prigozhin – no, this will not happen,” he said.
Mr. Lukashenko said earlier that he showed the Wagner fighters an “abandoned” military base. Satellite images verified by The New York Times last week showed new temporary structures being built at the abandoned base 80 miles from Minsk, the capital of Belarus. But on Thursday, Mr. Lukashenko appeared less indecisive about the possible presence of Wagner forces in Belarus.
“Whether they come here, and if so how many of them, 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 war was the main condition for being granted permission to move into the country.
“If we have to activate this unit to defend the homeland, it will be activated immediately,” he said. “And their expertise will be in great demand.”
After the insurrection in Russia late last month, Mr. Lukashenko has positioned himself as a powerful broker who has helped avert crisis, even as he becomes increasingly isolated from the rest of the world. Seen in the West as a vassal under the control of the Kremlin, 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 era as Russia’s leader.
By granting an interview session with a small group of reporters at his presidential palace on Thursday, Mr. Lukashenko may hope to establish a measure of independence from his benefactors in Moscow, with the potential for a boost at home, with the electorate more interested in peace than joining in war. Mr. Putin in Ukraine.
Anatoly Kurmanaev And Ivan Nikiporenko Contribute to the preparation of reports.
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