The leader of the Wagner group, who allegedly agreed to move to Belarus after his uprising of less than 24 hours, will finally be in St. Petersburg. The information was released this Thursday by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who even aired the hypothesis that Prigozhin was going to Moscow that same day. The Kremlin hit back by saying it is not following its steps – “we don’t have the time or the will to do that” – but it seems clear that it remains a thorn in President Vladimir Putin’s side. And it is therefore not surprising that photos of the police searching his house on the day of the uprising have been made public: “Weapons, wigs, gold: images of Prigozhin’s ‘mansion’ published,” Russia Today said on its website. And alleged photos of the various disguises he allegedly used over the years appeared on social networks.
The Wagner Group uprising took place 200 kilometers from Moscow on 24 June, with Prigozhin accepting an agreement reportedly negotiated with Lukashenko’s support. According to him, he would go to Belarus with his men and the charges against him were dropped by the Russian judiciary. Putin, who had called him a “traitor”, later said the group’s mercenaries could join the Russian army or follow in their leader’s footsteps and go to Belarus. But Prigozhin, whom Lukashenko said was in his country on the 27th, quickly returned to Russia.
The BBC said it tracked Prigozhin’s private jet that flew to Belarus in late June and returned to Russia the same night. Since then it has made several flights between St. Petersburg and Moscow, and it is not possible to say whether the leader of the Wagner Group was on board or not. Since the uprising, the whereabouts of Prigozhin – who has so far only sent audio messages – have not been known for certain.
The 62-year-old leader of the Wagner Group claimed that the aim of the uprising was not to overthrow Putin, but that his “march for justice” was against Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of Staff, Valery Gerasimov – with whom he had several clashes during the months it took to capture the city of Bakhmut. In the latest message, last Monday, he asked for support for GrupoWagner, guaranteeing that “new victories are ahead”.
Nevertheless, the Kremlin tried to turn the page and clean up everything related to the mercenary group. For example, a media group linked to him was closed last weekend before Prigozhin’s message. And a well-known Russian public television journalist accused him of “gone mad” after receiving huge amounts of money from the Kremlin, assuming that “everything was allowed.”
The campaign against Prigozhin continued on Thursday by releasing photos taken during searches of his home and office in St Petersburg on the day of the riot – calling for the leader of the Wagner group to be “held accountable” .. The house is described as “mansion” and “palace,” according to RT, who says the “luxury” included a helipad, along with a helicopter, indoor swimming pool, well-equipped medical room and prayer room. The images still show bundles of banknotes (including dollars) and gold bars, as well as some weapons – which, according to the Russian press, Prigozhin will have recovered on his return to St Petersburg.
Various wigs and other disguises were also found, as well as fake identities with various names. At the same time, supposedly “anonymous” but Kremlin-linked photos of Prigozhin circulated on social media (their veracity cannot be confirmed) in the same identities, which he is said to have used in the Wagner Group’s work abroad – it is present in several countries in Africa and the Middle East. The identities included “an employee of the Ministry of Defense of Sudan”, “a diplomatic assistant from Abu Dhabi” and “a lieutenant from Benghazi”.
But Prigozhin’s whereabouts remain unknown, as do his plans for the future, casting doubt on the validity of the agreement he negotiated with Putin.
Source: DN
