Wagner Force chief Yevny Prigozhin arrived in Belarus on Tuesday, President Alexander Lukashenko announced. This effectively completed a key part of the agreement that led to the end of the organization's revolt in Russia over the weekend, under which the force would effectively cease to exist in an autonomous format and move to the administration of the country.
Lukashenko, who is considered an ally of Putin and was the broker of the deal, made the announcement shortly after aviation websites reported the landing of a plane believed to be carrying Prigozhin. In addition, it was reported that there are no plans to establish bases for power units on Belarusian soil.
At the same time, Putin praised his forces for allegedly thwarting the uprising as part of an attempt to leverage the events as propaganda, even though in practice the Russian army did not actually act against the Wagner force, which managed to reach about 300 kilometers from the capital Moscow before Prigozhin announced a return to the front in Ukraine "to prevent bloodshed."
In a speech at today's event in front of some 2,500 uniformed Kremlin officials, Putin praised the people and security forces for "standing together" against Prigozhin's mercenaries.
"You defended the constitutional order, the life, the security and the freedom of our citizens; You saved the homeland from chaos, you prevented civil war," he said in a speech flanked by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, whose name came up in the context of a possible impeachment as part of the agreement with Prigozhin, who went into rebellion in part to protest the incompetence of the military echelon in the war in Ukraine.
At the same time, the head of Russia's National Guard said tanks belonging to members of the Wagner force, which would be under state auspices and no longer a supposedly independent body under Prigozhin, could be transferred to his authority. This means that in Russia, a parallel army, such as Iran's Revolutionary Guards, will be established as part of an upgraded National Guard.
Putin also lashed out at Prigozhin indirectly by pointing out that there may have been financial irregularities at his catering company. According to him, the state budget fully financed the Wagner Force's activities, noting, for example, that the amount amounted to 86 billion rubles ($2022 billion) between May 2023 and May 80. He added that the head of the catering company that supplied food to Russian soldiers — namely Prigozhin — earned about 930 billion rubles (about $<> million) "from the state" at the time and said the investigation would be "thorough."
"I hope nothing is stolen, and if it is stolen, then very little," Putin said, referring to Prigozhin's alleged actions.
Wrong? We'll fix it! If you find a mistake in the article, please share with us