In response to concerns that the relocation of Russia's Wagner private army could cause instability for NATO's Eastern European members, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg stated that the Western military alliance is prepared to defend itself against any danger.
In accordance with a contract struck by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Wagner's leader Yevgeny Prigozhin is rumored to have landed in Belarus on Tuesday. This pact narrowly spared the mercenaries from marching on Moscow on Saturday when the private army rebelled against Russia's military officials.
After a meeting in The Hague with NATO's Stoltenberg and government officials from six other NATO partners, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda remarked, "If Wagner deploys its serial killers in Belarus, all neighboring countries face even bigger danger of instability."
Andrzej Duda, the president of Poland, expressed his hope that the threat presented to NATO by Wagner mercenaries would be discussed at the July 11–12 summit of all 31 countries in Vilnius, Lithuania.
"This is a pretty severe and worrying situation, and we need to take very firm action. NATO must respond in a very, very tough way, according to Duda.
The presence of Wagner in Belarus, according to NATO's Stoltenberg, is still too early to predict what it would mean for NATO allies, but the military alliance vowed to defend "every ally, every inch of NATO territory" against any threats posed by "Moscow or Minsk."
At the upcoming summit, more choices will be made to further reinforce our collective defense with more high-readiness forces and more capabilities, according to Stoltenberg. "We have already increased our military presence in the eastern part of the alliance," he said.
Since waving to onlookers from a car on Saturday in Rostov-on-Don, where his fighters temporarily took control of in southern Russia, Prigozhin has not been seen.
According to information from FlightRadar24, a private aircraft thought to be owned by Prigozhin took off from Rostov on Tuesday morning and landed at an airbase southwest of Minsk, the capital of Belarus.
Putin tries to establish his dominance.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's supporters have insisted that the Prigozhin rebellion against Moscow has not undermined their country's leadership and that Russian authorities have been working to put the crisis behind them, including the FSB intelligence service dropping all criminal charges against Wagner fighters.
Putin has also made an effort to maintain his authority by praising the regular Russian military for what he described as preventing a civil war and by portraying the weekend's events as a type of military success.Putin addressed the servicemen from the Russian Defense Ministry, National Guard, FSB security service, and Interior Ministry who had assembled in a courtyard of the Kremlin on Tuesday, saying, "You de facto stopped civil war."
Putin added, "You proved your loyalty to the people of Russia and the military oath," before there was a moment of silence for the airmen who had been shot down and killed on Saturday by Wagner troops.
Putin revealed that the Wagner Group, despite functioning as a separate mercenary group, was entirely paid by the Russian state budget for the first time in a separate meeting with defense officials. He claimed that Moscow has paid the organization 86.262 billion rubles (about $1 billion) in salary since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
According to Prigozhin, there are still roughly 25,000 Wagner fighters in Ukraine. According to Moscow, plans are being made for them to hand over their heavy weaponry to Russian forces.Wagner and Lukashev
Tuesday, Belarus's President Lukashenko stated he had pleaded with Russian President Vladimir Putin not to execute the dissident mercenary leader Prigozhin.
"I told Putin that there was no problem with using him up. If not on the first attempt, then try again. According to state media, Lukashenko reportedly added, "I advised him: don't do this.
Additionally, Lukashenko claimed that the Wagner mercenaries could teach his force a lot.
They were in the very front of the forces that were attacking. According to the Belarusian news service Belta, Lukashenko stated, "They will tell us what's important now.
Lukashenko reportedly added the Wagner fighters might provide information on which weaponry were effective in Ukraine as well as effective strategies for both offense and defense."This is very important. Wagner fighters must provide this, according to Lukashenko, who also noted that the hired guns remained at their locations in the eastern Ukraine area of Luhansk that is seized by Russia.However, he added, "If they would want — and I realize that they are considering a variety of locations — then we will accommodate them.
Belarus is building numerous military camps to house the Wagner fighters, according to a report from Russian-language opposition media, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a Washington, DC-based think tank. The think tank stated that a base, which could house up to 8,000 fighters, was being built in the nation's Mogilev region, which is situated around 200 kilometers (124 miles) east of Minsk.
If Putin decides to break his promise not to pursue the Wagner fighters for mutiny, the ISW also stated that Belarus is unlikely to be a truly safe location for them.
If the Kremlin exerts pressure on Belarus, "Belarus will not offer Prigozhin or Wagner fighters a true haven," the ISW declared.
"Putin might be luring people in by portraying Belarus as a safe sanctuary for Wagner warriors. Whether or not it takes immediate action against them, the Kremlin will probably view the members of the Wagner Group who travel with Prigozhin to Belarus as traitors," it added.According to the ISW on Wednesday, Putin is also trying to ruin Prigozhin's reputation among his fighters and in Russian society.According to the institution, the Russian president "likely decided that he cannot at this time directly eliminate Prigozhin without making him a martyr".
In order to undermine Prigozhin's ability to command the backing of the public, deter Wagner employees from traveling with him to Belarus, and undermine his financial clout, the Kremlin is likely to keep attacking his character.
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