Moscow: In a stunning turn of events, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the chief of a Russian mercenary group, has flown to Belarus from Russia following a mutiny that has inflicted the most substantial blow to President Vladimir Putin’s authority in his more than 23-year tenure.
Initially, President Putin vowed to crush the mutiny, likening it to the turbulent period of the 1917 revolution and subsequent civil war. However, mere hours later, a deal was struck to allow Yevgeny Prigozhin and some of his fighters safe passage to Belarus.
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Yevgeny Prigozhin, a 62-year-old former petty thief who rose to prominence as Russia’s most influential mercenary, was last seen in public when he departed from the southern Russian city of Rostov on Saturday. During his departure, he greeted others, stating that he had “cheered up” people.
According to Flightradar24 data, an Embraer Legacy 600 business jet arrived in the Rostov region at 02:32 GMT before descending near Minsk at 04:20 GMT. The aircraft’s identification codes matched those associated with a jet that the United States has linked to Autolex Transport, a company connected to Prigozhin as per the US Office of Foreign Assets Control, which enforces sanctions.
President Alexander Lukashenko was quoted by state news agency BELTA as saying, “I see Prigozhin is already flying in on this plane. Yes, indeed, he is in Belarus today.” This confirms Prigozhin’s presence in Belarus, as agreed upon in a deal brokered by President Lukashenko on Saturday to quell the mutiny orchestrated by Prigozhin’s mercenary fighters.
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In a late-night address to the nation on Monday, Vladimir Putin denounced the leaders of what he referred to as the “armed mutiny,” accusing them of betrayal against Russia and its people. However, he expressed gratitude to the military, law enforcement, and special services for standing against the mutineers.
The Kremlin chief paid tribute to the pilots who lost their lives during the mutiny and declared that he had ordered Russian forces to refrain from further bloodshed.
Putin thanked the Wagner mercenaries who backed away from the brink of “armed rebellion” and bloodshed on Saturday.