Lukashenko Says That During Revolt, Putin Suggested Killing Mercenary Chief [View all]

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https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/06/27/world/russia-ukraine-news
https://archive.ph/nEVi6

Lukashenko Says That During Revolt, Putin Suggested Killing Mercenary Chief
President Aleksandr G. Lukashenko of Belarus said that he had argued against the move, and confirmed that Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner mercenary group, had arrived in the country, Belarusian state media reported.
June 27, 2023 Updated 8:12 p.m. ET

The Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny V. Prigozhin arrived in Belarus on Tuesday, the Belarusian state news media reported, ending days of speculation over his whereabouts after he called off a weekend uprising that marked the most dramatic challenge to President Vladimir V. Putin’s rule in two decades.

New details emerged about the negotiations that ended the daylong rebellion, as President Aleksandr G. Lukashenko of Belarus, Russia’s closest ally, described his phone conversations with Mr. Putin and Mr. Prigozhin as the Wagner mercenaries were marching to Moscow on Saturday.

According to his own account reported in Belarusian state media, Mr. Lukashenko said Mr. Putin had raised the possibility of killing Mr. Prigozhin. But Mr. Lukashenko said that he had urged against a rushed response, saying that “a bad peace is better than any war.” The Belarusian leader said that he had then called Mr. Prigozhin, warning him that Mr. Putin intended to “squash him like a bug.” The account could not be immediately confirmed.

In Moscow, Mr. Putin praised his security forces in a highly choreographed speech, portraying the rebellion as a heroic episode for the Russian state and thanking the military for having “essentially stopped a civil war,” state media reported.

It was the latest in a series of appearances since the mutiny in which Mr. Putin has tried to seize the political initiative, suggesting Mr. Prigozhin has enriched himself at the country’s expense and indirectly warning of consequences for officials who helped him do so.