On June 24, the press service of Alexander Lukashenko announced that, on behalf of Putin, he managed to agree with Prigozhin to stop the movement of the Wagnerites in Russia. Later, the press secretary of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, said that all charges against the head of the Wagner PMC would be dropped, and he would "leave for Belarus." A day later, unconfirmed reports appeared that the construction of Wagner PMC camps had begun in Belarus.
One of the leaders of the Belarusian opposition, former Minister of Culture Pavel Latushko told The Insider what this decision threatens Lukashenka:
The very story of PMC "Wagner" moving to Belarus is a ticking time bomb. By agreeing to this, Lukashenka signed his own verdict.
In the future, PMC Wagner can become an instrument of escalation against any state, primarily Ukraine. This grouping, consisting of professional fighters, is able to start "biting" the borders of other states and organize raids against Lithuania, Latvia, and so on.
The second element: "Wagner", in case Russia loses the war, can ensure the implementation of the instructions from the Kremlin on the entry of Belarus into the Russian Federation. For Lukashenka, this is a challenge, and his security forces understand this.
Yesterday there was information that this was discussed at a meeting with Lukashenka, and the majority of the power apparatus spoke out against the transfer of Wagner fighters to the country. Now Lukashenka can succumb to the pressure of the Kremlin, and now his situation has turned from a populist win to a strategic loser.
On June 24, the head of Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin, after statements that the places of deployment of his mercenaries were fired upon by the forces of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, began the "March of Justice" to Moscow. His forces entered Rostov-on-Don, and also moved towards the capital through the Voronezh and Lipetsk regions. On the same day, the rebel deployed his columns, allegedly by agreement with Lukashenka, acting on behalf of Putin.
