Belarus leader welcomes Wagner boss Prigozhin into exile

The person of Russia's 24-hour mutiny, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has arrived successful Belarus, 3 days aft his Wagner mercenary group's mutiny came to an extremity 200km (125 miles) southbound of Moscow.

"Yes, indeed, he's successful Belarus today," person Alexander Lukashenko announced, claiming recognition successful arranging his exile.

Mr Prigozhin's whereabouts had been a enigma since helium was filmed driving disconnected successful confederate Russia connected Saturday night.

His backstage pitchy was tracked flying into the Belarus superior Minsk connected Tuesday.

Mr Lukashenko said Wagner mercenaries had been offered an abandoned subject basal if they wanted to articulation their leader: "There is simply a fence, everything is available, erect your tents."

Under the woody that brought an extremity to the mutiny, Mr Prigozhin has been promised information and the Russian transgression lawsuit against Wagner has been dropped.

Moscow is preparing to transportation the mercenaries' dense weapons into the regular subject and the fighters person been told they tin either motion regular service contracts, spell location oregon caput to Belarus.

Nato members Poland, Latvia and Lithuania person warned that Wagner's accomplishment successful Belarus could spell occupation for them arsenic neighbours. A Lithuanian statesmanlike advisor said the mercenaries were unsafe arsenic they could instrumentality portion successful sabotage and infiltration operations.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda told a property league that if Wagner deployed successful Belarus, "All neighbouring countries look adjacent greater information of instability."

Nato main Jens Stoltenberg said the confederation was acceptable to support itself against immoderate menace from "Moscow oregon Minsk" and would hold to fortify its defences astatine a gathering successful Lithuania adjacent week.

He said peculiar attraction would beryllium paid to countries that borderline Belarus. "We person sent a wide connection to Moscow and to Minsk that Nato is determination to support each state and each inch of Nato territory."

Russia moved tactical atomic weapons into Belarus successful caller weeks, with President Putin saying they would lone beryllium utilized if Russian territory was threatened.

Belarusian nationalist sentiment is besides precise disturbed, according to Katia Glod of the European Leadership Network. "Obviously they don't privation to person a transgression similar Prigozhin successful Belarus," she said.

Mr Lukashenko said simply that the Wagnerites could assistance the Belarusian military, sharing their acquisition with tactics and weapons.

The mutineers' easiness successful seizing power of the metropolis of Rostov-on-Don and past driving truthful acold northbound with small absorption has exposed large weaknesses successful the Kremlin's power of information successful Russia aft 23 years of Putin rule.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov rejected arsenic "hysteria" suggestions that the events of Friday and Saturday had dented his clasp connected power.

But past President Putin himself told an array of Russian information forces assembled successful a Kremlin quadrate that they had defended their motherland, "de facto stopping a civilian warfare successful its tracks".

The insurrection was adjacent much alarming arsenic Mr Putin revealed that Mr Prigozhin's backstage service had been afloat funded by the state, with $1bn spent connected salaries and bonuses successful 12 months. A further $1bn went to Mr Prigozhin's Concord catering steadfast for feeding the military.

The Russian person admitted that pilots had mislaid their lives "confronting the mutineers" successful the latest effort to instrumentality clasp of the communicative of a turbulent fewer days that shook the Kremlin.

Six subject helicopters and an Ilyushin 22-M command-and-control level were changeable down by the mutineers, according to unconfirmed reports. Some wreckage has been seen but the fig of casualties is unclear.

Mr Prigozhin besides accused the Russian subject of a rocket onslaught connected his men connected Friday, sidesplitting 30 people. However, nary grounds of that has been seen.

"In a time we covered 780 km," helium said connected Monday. "Not a azygous worker was killed connected the ground. We are atrocious that we had to onslaught aircraft, but they were hitting america with bombs and missiles."

Videos person shown the Wagner convoy being bombed from the aerial arsenic they headed northbound among civilian postulation successful the confederate Voronezh portion connected Saturday.

Whatever the information of however 24 hours of mayhem did travel to an end, 1 elaborate mentation was presented connected Tuesday by Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus since 1994 and is wide thought to person rigged 2020 elections to support power.

"I said to Putin: We could discarded [Prigozhin], nary problem. If not connected the archetypal try, past connected the second. I told him: don't bash this," helium told information officials.

He said helium had offered to telephone Mr Prigozhin, to which Mr Putin reportedly said: "Look, Sasha [Alexander], it's useless, helium won't adjacent prime up the telephone and doesn't privation to talk to anyone."

"Give maine his number," helium went on. "[Putin] said, 'most probably, the FSB [Russian Federal Security Service] person his number'."

Describing his speech with Mr Prigozhin, Mr Lukashenko said the mercenary brag was successful a authorities of euphoria due to the fact that of Wagner's occurrence until that point.

According to the Belarusian leader, Mr Prigozhin told him: "We privation justice, they privation to strangle us, we volition spell to Moscow."

"I archer him that fractional mode you volition beryllium crushed similar a bug."

Russia world Mark Galeotti said the Belarus person had acted arsenic a utile intermediary for President Putin, who could present question to support Mr Prigozhin connected broadside to negociate his mercenary forces successful Africa.

Katia Glod said that Belarusians were focused connected however acold the situation had weakened Vladimir Putin, arsenic it would besides mean a weakened Alexander Lukashenko.

"The duplicate pillars of Lukashenko are the Kremlin and the unit of [Belarus] information services that fulfil Lukashenko's orders," she said. "In the abbreviated word it could mean much repression arsenic Lukashenko feels much weakened. If the Kremlin looks little reliable arsenic a pillar it could mean bully quality successful the agelong term."