Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin has arrived in Belarus under a deal that ended a brief mutiny against the Russian military by his fighters, state news agency BELTA says, quoting Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
A plane linked to Mr Prigozhin and believed to be carrying him into exile landed in Belarus from the southern Russian city of Rostov early on Tuesday, a flight tracking service said.
"I see Prigozhin is already flying in on this plane," Mr Lukashenko was quoted as saying by BELTA. "Yes, indeed, he is in Belarus today."
Mr Prigozhin has not yet been seen in public in Belarus.
President Lukashenko claimed he played a key role in ending the mutiny
Over the weekend, the Wagner mercenary group surged most of the way to Moscow in what its leader Mr Prigozhin called a "march for justice" after he claimed the Russian military killed 30 of his fighters in a missile strike on a Wagner camp. He has not provided evidence of these claims.
However, late on Saturday, Mr Prigozhin suddenly turned his forces around after striking a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin, brokered by Mr Lukashenko. The details of the deal are still unknown.
President Lukashenko said he had convinced the mercenary chief in an emotional, expletive-laden phone call to scrap the mutiny.
He said he warned the Wagner leader halfway on the march to Moscow that "you'll just be crushed like a bug".
Mr Lukashenko, both an old acquaintance of Mr Prigozhin and close ally of President Putin, said that Mr Putin had sought his help and that he had advised the Russian president against "rushing" to suppress the Wagner mutineers.
On Monday night, Mr Putin said in a televised address that the Wagner fighters would be permitted to establish themselves in Belarus, join the Russian military or go home.
Lithuania's President expressed his concern about Wagner group
Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda said on Tuesday he was concerned that the movement of Wagner fighters into Belarus will increase insecurity in all neighbouring countries.
"If Wagner deploys its serial killers in Belarus, all neighbouring countries face even bigger danger of instability," Mr Nauseda said after a meeting in The Hague with government leaders from several NATO allies.
In Moscow, Russian authorities have dropped a criminal case against the Wagner Group, state news agency RIA reported, apparently fulfilling a condition of the deal brokered by Mr Lukashenko.
Ukraine hopes the chaos caused by the mutiny attempt will undermine Russian defences as Kyiv presses on with a counteroffensive to recapture occupied territory in the south and east.
