Belarus’s president said Yevgeny Prigozhin had arrived in his country, as Vladimir Putin said Russia averted “civil war” after the mutiny by fighters loyal to the mercenary leader.
President Alexander Lukashenko said Tuesday that Prigozhin had flown into Belarus, in line with an agreement that he’d negotiated with Putin and the rebel chief to end the revolt that came within 200 kilometers of Moscow.
Putin repeatedly thanked the army and security services for support in televised meetings Tuesday as he moved to restore his authority that had been battered by the weekend crisis. “You in fact prevented a civil war,” he told 2,500 troops assembled at a Kremlin ceremony. “In a difficult situation you acted clearly and coherently.”
