A business jet linked to the head of the Russian mercenaries, Yevgeny Prigozhin, flew from Russia to Belarus on Tuesday after a riot that represented the biggest blow to President Vladimir Putin’s authority since he took power more than 23 years ago. years.
Flightradar24 showed that the Embraer Legacy 600 business jet appeared in the Rostov region at 2:32 am and started landing at 4:20 am (local time) near Minsk, the capital of Belarus.
The aircraft’s identification codes match those of a jet linked by the United States to Autolex Transport, which is linked to Prigozhin by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control.
Under a deal brokered by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko last Saturday to stop a mutiny by Wagner Group mercenary fighters, Prigozhin is due to move to Belarus.
In an address to the nation late on Monday, Putin said the leaders of what he called an “armed mutiny” betrayed Russia and the Russian people, but thanked the army, police and special services for resisting the rioters.
The 70-year-old Kremlin chief said he ordered Russian forces to avoid any bloodshed and thanked Wagner’s mercenaries who walked away from the imminence of an “armed rebellion” and bloodshed on Saturday.
Prigozhin’s “march for justice”, which he said was aimed at settling scores with Putin’s military top brass, whom he has branded as traitorous and corrupt, has raised the prospect of turmoil in Russia while undermining the reputation of Putin as the undisputed leader.
“The promise I made will be fulfilled”
Putin vowed on Saturday to crush the riot, likening it to the wartime turmoil that sparked the 1917 revolutions and later civil war, and to punish those responsible.
But just hours later, the riot ended when the Kremlin said criminal charges against the mutineers would be dropped in exchange for their return to the camps, with Prigozhin moving to Belarus.
Speaking from the Kremlin on Monday, Putin vowed to keep his promise to allow Wagner’s fighters to leave for Belarus, though he did not mention Prigozhin by name.
“You have the opportunity to continue serving Russia by signing a contract with the Ministry of Defense or other law enforcement agencies, or to return to your family and friends,” Putin said.
“Anyone who wants can go to Belarus. The promise I made will be fulfilled.”
Putin was shown on state television holding an evening meeting with senior security and military officials, including Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, the focus of Prigozhin’s ire.
Prigozhin said on Monday that the day-long mutiny was not aimed at overthrowing Russia’s government but rather registering a protest against what he said was the ineffective conduct of the war in Ukraine.
“We did not aim to overthrow the existing regime and legally elected government,” he said in an 11-minute audio message posted on the messaging app Telegram.
The Federal Security Service said it had dropped criminal proceedings against Prigozhin for armed mutiny, while the Defense Ministry said the Wagner Group was preparing to hand over its heavy military equipment to the army.
(Edited by Gareth Jones and Angus MacSwan)
Source: CNN Brasil
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