“Prigogine and Lukashenko have known each other for 20 years”
[로스토프나도누=AP/뉴시스] The Russian Kremlin announced on the 24th (local time) that the head of the Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, would leave for Belarus. The photo shows Prigogine giving a video speech on the day. 2023.06.25
[서울=뉴시스] Reporter Moon Ye-sung = While the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary group that caused an armed rebellion, halted its advance on Moscow, the Russian Kremlin announced that Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner Group, would leave for Belarus.
According to CNN on the 24th (local time), Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a conference call with reporters that day, “Criminal charges against Prigozhin will be dropped and he will leave for Belarus.”
A spokesman for Peskov promised that Wagner mercenaries who participated in the advance on Moscow would not be punished, saying, “We have respected the heroic actions they (Wagner Group mercenaries) made on the front line.”
“President Aleksandr Lukashenko has personally known Prigozhin for about 20 years,” he explained.
“President Lukashenko himself proposed mediation, and President Putin agreed,” he said. “I would like to thank President Lukashenko for this effort.”
Wagner’s group revolted by entering Russia, claiming that the Russian army had attacked their rear camp the day before.
Through the mediation of President Lukashenko, the Wagner group decided to withdraw their forces with Moscow at hand, avoiding a head-on clash with the Russian military authorities.
Prigozhin posted a voice message on Telegram that day, saying that “to avoid bloodshed, the troops heading to Moscow have been ordered to withdraw.”
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