Prigozhin, who has largely disappeared since leading a failed mutiny in June, said he was looking for new fighters to advance Russian goals in Africa.
Since then, Prigozhin has been spotted in his hometown of St. Petersburg attending a Russia-Africa summit, and in a blurry video shot in near-darkness that purported to show him instructing his troops in Belarus on how to conduct themselves on their new base in exile.
The long-term fate of the Wagner Group remains uncertain. In the wake of the mutiny, Putin acknowledged for the first time that the group was government-funded; whether Prigozhin has the means to keep it running without state support is an open question. Wagner’s longtime base in the Krasnodar region of Russia is in the process of shutting down, and many fighters are being let go.
“The presence of mercenaries in Belarus is actively used to carry out informational provocations and create tension on the borders with NATO countries,” Hajun said. Lithuania closed two of its six border checkpoints with Belarus last week, citing the security risk posed by Wagner. Lukashenko previously said Wagner was scheming an attack on Poland from his territory but later said he was “joking.”
Wagner’s Belarus contingent probably consists of more experienced fighters, while convicts taken from Russian prisons to serve on the front lines in Ukraine, often in exchange for presidential pardons, have largely been dismissed.New ads posted on Wagner-linked channels alongside Prigozhin’s address suggest that the group is returning to its prewar recruitment strategy, looking to attract experienced soldiers with clean records.
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