Thumbing his nose at Putin, exiled Wagner boss Prigozhin returns to Russia

Belorussian President and Vladimir Putin's ally Alexander Lukashenko said Thursday that the Wagner mercenary group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was in the Russian city of St Petersburg.

Observers say Prigozhin's latest stunt is in total defiance of the agreement reached with the Russian authorities after his short-lived mutiny against the Kremlin.

Lukashenko told media in Mink Thursday that Prigozhin was now in St Petersburg, Russia's second city, or may have moved on to Moscow.

"He is not on the territory of Belarus," Lukashenko said.

The Wagner chief had agreed with the Russian officials that he'd leave the country and live in exile in neighbouring Belarus to avoid persecution — the President of Belarus had mediated the deal. 

During the chaotic days, the mercenaries claimed to have taken control of some military facilities in two Russian cities with a large number of trained fighters headed to Moscow.

After coming across the mutiny, Kremlin deployed heavily armed troops to the streets in the Russian capital, showing a scene as if a civil war was about to start, with President Putin also voicing a similar concern at that time.

The insurrection was ended within days after Russian authorities reached a deal with the Wagner chief that he would be sent to the neighbouring Belarus.

Lukashenko also added that the question of Wagner units relocating to Belarus had not been resolved and would depend on decisions by Russia and by Wagner.

"Whether they will be in Belarus or not, in what quantity, we will figure it out in the near future," he said.

His remarks show uncertainties surrounding the deal he brokered.

Prigozhin's men have spearheaded much of the fighting in Ukraine but he has accused Russia's top brass of incompetence. Prigozhin cast the June 24 "march of justice" on Moscow as a protest against the military leadership.

Russian state TV Wednesday criticised Prigozhin and said an investigation into what had happened was still being vigorously pursued.

A business jet linked to Prigozhin left St Petersburg for Moscow Wednesday and headed to southern Russia Thursday, according to flight tracking data. It remains unclear if the chief was onboard the plane.

If Prigozhin returned to Russia without punishment it damage Putin's authority.

Putin told Asian leaders this week that the episode had shown that Russian society is more united than ever. 

"No, we do not follow his movements, we have neither the ability nor the desire to do so," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in answer to a reporter's question Thursday.

He confirmed that Prigozhin's departure for Belarus was one of the conditions of the deal. "This was discussed. Both we and Alexander Grigoryevich [Lukashenko] have spoken about this," he said.

Lukashenko said he had agreed to meet Putin in the near future and would discuss the Prigozhin situation with him. Peskov said no date had been set.

Prigozhin is "absolutely free" and Putin will not "wipe him out", Lukashenko said.

An offer for Wagner to station some of its fighters in Belarus — a prospect that has alarmed neighbouring Nato countries — still stands, said President Belarus. 

"We are not building camps. We offered them several former military camps that were used in Soviet times, including near Osipovichi. If they agree. But Wagner has a different vision for deployment, of course, I won’t tell you about this vision," the leader told the media.

Lukashenko also said he did not see a Wagner presence in Belarus as a risk to his country and did not believe Wagner would ever take up arms against it. He said the Belarusian army could benefit from Wagner's expertise.