Belarus President Lukashenko told media today that Yevgeny Prigozhin, the alleged coup leader of the Wagner Group, was not in his country.
“He is in St Petersburg. Or maybe this morning he would travel to Moscow or elsewhere,” Lukashenko said in response to a question from CNN. “But he is not on the territory of Belarus now.”
Indeed, he was in St. Petersburg.
Prigozhin was spotted in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Putin agreed to let him get all his belongings and assets out by July 1st. The FSB returned four billion rubles in cash ($47 million) they had seized from his office and mansion.
Authorities raided Prigozhin’s office and residence in St. Petersburg, seizing cash, weapons, and wigs.” Fake passports recovered showed him using the name Brie Gozhin.
On Thursday, Lukashenko said that it was Putin, who was Prigozhin’s longtime friend, who knew him “much better than I do and knew him longer than I do, about 30 years.”
President Lukashenko said he made the deal with Prigozhin with Putin’s permission because Prigozhin was Putin’s friend. Putin knew Prigozhin a lot longer.
It was Putin who let Prigozhin off.
Also on Thursday, Lukashenko insisted that were Wagner to come to Belarus, its mercenaries would have to sign documents with Belarus’ government.
“When they decide to be located in Belarus, we will draft up a contract with them,” he said.
Footage arrived from searches in the mansion and office of #Prigozhin 😎
They found a whole arsenal of weapons, a huge sledgehammer with the inscription “in case of important negotiations”, wigs, bundles of currency, a personal prayer room, a medical office, fake documents,… pic.twitter.com/kSur6vx6Id
— CtrlAltDelete (@TakingoutTrash7) July 6, 2023
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