Wagner boss has returned to Russia, says Lukashenko

Minsk (Belarus), July 6

The mercenary leader who led a short-lived mutiny against the Kremlin is in Russia and his troops are in their field camps, the president of Belarus said on Thursday, raising new questions about the deal that ended the extraordinary challenge to President Vladimir Putin’s rule.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s claim could not be independently verified, and the Kremlin refused to comment on Yevgeny Prigozhin’s whereabouts.

But Russian media have reported he was recently seen at his offices in St Petersburg.

It was not clear if Prigozhin’s presence in Russia would violate the deal, which allowed the head of the Wagner Group military contractor to move to Belarus in exchange for ending the rebellion and a promise of amnesty for him and his troops.