Soldiers of Russia’s Wagner Group, who are moving to Belarus following the ouster of rebels last month, will not return to Ukraine and will stay in Belarus to train local soldiers, their leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Wednesday.
“We did a lot in Russia. What is happening on the front is a shame. We don’t want any part of it,” Prigozhin he said in his first public appearance since his troops marched on Moscow in a failed coup last month.
In a still cell phone video shot that evening, Prigozhin can be seen in silhouette wearing a baseball cap. He speaks to a group of men who appear to be Wagner veterans and they keep clapping and cheering over and over again.
“That’s why we decided to stay in Belarus for a while. In the meantime, we will turn the Belarusian army into the second strongest in the world and, if necessary, we will take its place,” Prigozhin fired, attacking Russia, which currently has the second largest army in the world the whole world.
Then he said that his soldiers could go to Africa, where Wagner he has been doing in Mali and the Central African Republic.
Prigozhin’s deputy, named Dmitry Utkin, who Battle name he gave the army his name, saying: “This is not the end. This is the beginning. The biggest project in the world will start soon,” he said before changing his English to: “Welcome to hell.”
After months of conflict with the leadership of the Russian military Prigozhin he turned around his army against the Russian authorities last month. He led his men into Russian territory, taking the southwestern city of Rostov-on-Don and stopping just twelve kilometers from Moscow.
The rebel general later left the group he beat agreement with the dictator of the Kremlin and Belarusian Alexander Lukashenko where Wagner’s army could not be opposed in Russia, while he and his men will go into exile in Belarus.
He to wake up again a few days later, sending a message on social media to thank those who support the uprising while indicating that Minsk has given options for its troops to continue operating from Belarus.
Since then, there have been conflicting reports about Prigozhin’s whereabouts. Lukashenko first it has been confirmed Prigozhin appeared in Belarus three days after the terrorist, on June 27, before he claimed his identity it wasn’t really there – and may be in Russia.
Last week, the Kremlin said Wagner’s boss was in Moscow on June 29, where he stayed they met and Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Wagner officials.