Minsk, Belarus — The mercenary leader who led a short-lived mutiny against the Kremlin is in Russia and his troops are in their field camps, the president of Belarus claimed Thursday, raising new questions about the deal that ended the extraordinary challenge to President Vladimir Putin's rule.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's claim could not be independently verified, and the Kremlin refused to comment on Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin's whereabouts.
Russian media have said the Wagner chief was recently spotted at his offices in St. Petersburg, however, and pro-Kremlin outlets published photos Thursday purportedly taken inside a mansion belonging to Prigozhin in the city, which is Russia's second largest.
A U.S. official told CBS News on Thursday that Prigozhin was not believed to be in Belarus and could be in Russia.
It was not clear if Prigozhin's presence in Russia would violate the deal, which allowed the head of the Wagner Group military contractor to move to Belarus in exchange for ending his rebellion and a promise of amnesty for him and his troops. The reports signaled that the agreement may have allowed him to finalize his affairs in Russia.
If that's true, it could suggest the threat posed by Prigozhin has not yet been fully defused and that the Kremlin is treading carefully with him until it can figure out what to do with troops who may still be loyal to him. Putin has said that Wagner troops can join the Russian military, retire from service or move to Belarus.
But much about the agreement, which was brokered by Lukashenko, remains murky.
Last week, Lukashenko said the mercenary leader was in Belarus, but on Thursday he told international reporters that Prigozhin was in St. Petersburg and could also travel to Moscow if he so wishes, while Wagner's troops were in their camps. He did not specify the location of the camps, but Prigozhin's mercenaries fought alongside Russian forces in eastern Ukraine before their revolt and also have bases on Russian territory.
He also said that Prigozhin has been given back the cash and weapons that were confiscated by Russian authorities.
Asked where Prigozhin is, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov shrugged off the question, saying the Kremlin has neither the desire nor the means to track his movements — but he reaffirmed that the deal that ended the mutiny envisaged his move to Belarus.
Lukashenko said his government offered Wagner — which has sent troops around the world to fight for Russia's interests and, as a CBS News investigation revealed, to make money — the use of Belarusian military camps but that the company had not made a final decision.
The Kremlin has played down the fact that Prigozhin escaped punishment for his mutiny while other Putin's critics have been met with harsh prison sentences, exile or even death, saying that the deal with the Wagner chief was necessary to avoid massive bloodshed.
The Belarusian leader shrugged off suggestions that Putin might order Prigozhin killed, saying: "If you think that Putin is so vicious and vindictive to finish him off, no, it's not going to happen."
On Wednesday, Russian online newspapers Fontanka and Izvestia, both of which are pro-Kremlin, posted videos and photos they said were of Prigozhin's opulent mansion in St. Petersburg.
The outlets said the images were taken following a raid by Russian authorities, and they showed stacks of cash, gold bullion and a jacket fully covered in medals Prigozhin was awarded, including the Hero of Russia medal, one of the country's highest awards.
Izvestia also published a collection of photos it said were selfies taken by Prigozhin, showed him posing in various wigs, fake beards and foreign uniforms — an apparent reflection of Wagner's deployments to Syria and several African countries.
A photo hanging in the mansion showed a lineup of decapitated heads. In one published image, an oversized souvenir sledgehammer could also be seen with the inscription "for important negotiations." The sledgehammer has become a symbol of Wagner after reports its troops used the tool to beat defectors to death.
Asked about the deployment of Russia's tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, Lukashenko said they are intended to deter any aggression against the country. Putin and Lukashenko both have said that some of the weapons have already been moved to Belarus, and the Belarusian leader reaffirmed Thursday that a "certain number" were there and the rest would be delivered before the year's end.
Lukashenko said Russia would consult him on any possible use of those weapons, adding that it could only happen in response to an act of aggression by NATO against Russia or Belarus.
"If I don't want something, if our people and the state don't want it, it means it won't happen," he said, adding that "these weapons serve strictly defensive purposes."
"Don't touch us," Lukashenko said, "and we will never use these deadly weapons."
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