Wagner boss Prigozchin ends up in Belarus. But he can’t feel safe there – also because of Putin’s ally Lukashenko.
Minsk – After the failed rebellion against the Russian military leadership, Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin went into exile in Belarus. This was preceded by negotiations with the Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko, who is to make former military bases available to the Wagner group, among other things.
The Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tichanovskaya, who left her homeland after being convicted in 2020 and has since been active against Lukashenko’s regime, accused the ruler of pure selfishness in this matter. The 68-year-old did not intervene to save the face of Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin “or to prevent a civil war in Russia,” said Tichanovskaya in Brussels.
Rather, Lukashenko is concerned about his personal survival because he knows that he would be “next” if the Russian power structure were to collapse. Therefore, the civil rights activist is certain: “Prigozhin and Lukashenko are not allies. They can’t trust each other” – a betrayal is inevitable.
Wagner boss in exile in Belarus: “Don’t think that Prigozhin will live a long life”
Tikhanovskaya is not alone in her belief that Prigozhin has not found safe haven in Belarus. “The last thing Prigozhin wants to do is go to Belarus and give up control of Wagner,” Dmitry Alperovich, chairman of Silverado Policy Accelerator, a Washington-based think tank, said in a June 26 podcast. “I’m not sure if it’s actually going to end that way,” he added.
The Russian activist and former journalist Olga Romanova also doubts that the Wagner boss will stay in Belarus. “I think he will leave Belarus very quietly and suddenly show up somewhere in Africa, if he shows up at all,” she told Opposite CurrentTime, a Russian-language network. “I don’t think that Prigozhin will live a long life. He definitely won’t survive until the end of the year.”
According to the head of the Ukrainian secret service, Kyrylo Budanov, the killing order has already been given to the Russian secret service. “We know that the FSB received the order to kill Prigozhin. Time will tell if he will succeed. In any case, all possible assassination attempts will not be quick. It will take time to work out an approach and conduct a large-scale operation,” the Ukrainian news portal quoted as saying Ukrainska Pravda the 37 year old.
Betrayal by Lukashenko: Tichanovskaya considers Prigozhin’s assassination possible
Svetlana Tichanovskaya also warned that a contract killing could take place soon. Prigozhin “humiliated” Russian President Vladimir Putin, who then made it clear that he would not forgive traitors, she said Deutsche Welle. If Putin orders Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko to get rid of Prigozhin, he will do so, she said.
Tichanovskaya also classified Prigozhin’s presence in Belarus as a security risk for her country, as did the stationing of Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus. This should worry the West and be debated more broadly, the activist stressed. (nak)
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