Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said he persuaded Russian President Vladimir Putin not to “wipe out” mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, in response to what the Kremlin cast as a mutiny. Putin initially vowed to crush the rebellion, comparing it to the wartime turmoil that ushered in the revolution of 1917 and then a civil war, but hours later a deal was clinched to allow Prigozhin and some of his fighters to go to Belarus.
- Wagner mercenaries training Belarus’ special forces near Poland’s border
- Top Russian general was sympathetic to Wagner revolt: U.S. officials
- Putin wanted to ‘wipe out’ Prigozhin during Wagner revolt, Lukashenko says