MOSCOW—Russia’s mutinous mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was shown in a video on Wednesday welcoming his fighters to Belarus, telling them they would take no further part in the Ukraine war for now but ordering them to gather their strength for Africa. The footage, reposted by his press service on Telegram, is the first video evidence…

MINSK—The mutinous head of Russia’s Wagner group is no longer in Belarus and it is not clear if his fighters will move there, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said on Thursday. Mr. Lukashenko said on June 27 that Yevgeny Prigozhin had arrived in Belarus as part of the deal that defused the crisis, which had seen…

MOSCOW—Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said he persuaded Russian President Vladimir Putin not to “wipe out” mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, in response to what the Kremlin cast as a mutiny. Putin initially vowed to crush the mutiny, comparing it to the wartime turmoil that ushered in the revolution of 1917 and then a civil war, but…

Commentary Military mutinies vary in nature and scope, but they can provide stimulus or course correction for the forces that suffer from them. Moscow carefully managed the brief mutiny (June 23–25) of its Wagner Group of contractor military fighters in Ukraine and had been working to bring to a head Wagner’s quasi-independent status. The path…

Commentary The Wagner Group, an international Russian paramilitary organization led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, mutinied on June 23–24. Wagner fighters reportedly occupied two military bases, including in the southern Russian city of Rostov, where Moscow has its main military headquarters for the south. The Rostov headquarters also serves as a key node for Russia’s occupation of…

The Belarus President’s Office has said that Wagner mercenary group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin has agreed to stop the group’s lightning-fast advance toward Moscow and to deescalate the situation, with Prigozhin denying the claims. Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus and an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has reportedly held talks with Prigozhin, according to…

The Belarus President’s Office has said that Wagner mercenary group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin has agreed to stop the group’s lightning-fast advance toward Moscow and to deescalate the situation, with Prigozhin confirming the news in a social media post. Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus and an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has reportedly held…

Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Saturday his Wagner fighters had completed the capture of Bakhmut, but Ukraine rejected the claim and said fighting was still going on. Prigozhin made the claim in a video in which he appeared in combat fatigues in front of a line of fighters holding Russian flags and Wagner banners. “Today, at…

Commentary Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin of the infamous Wagner mercenary group also owns a U.S.-sanctioned company called Meroe Gold. This company extracts gold from Sudan, supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. Fighting broke out in Sudan on April 15 between two generals who led previous coup battles to consolidate control over the country. As…

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of Russia’s Wagner mercenary force, said in a video published on Friday that the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut was “practically surrounded” by his forces and that Kyiv’s forces had only one road left out. Prigozhin’s men have spearheaded the assault in eastern Ukraine for months. Moscow regards Bakhmut, which it calls…