Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, the unruly head of the Wagner mercenary group, appears to have resurfaced in Belarus to deliver a welcome speech for his fighters deployed there as part of a deal that ended his brief mutiny last month, according to a video published Wednesday by at least three Telegram channels linked to the group.
In the video, filmed at dusk, a man whose silhouette and voice closely resemble Mr. Prigozhin said that the Wagner fighters will remain in Belarus for some time to train his army, with the aim of transforming it into the best army in the world outside of Russia.
In the aftermath of the aborted mutiny, the fate of the Wagner group seemed in limbo. Last week, President Vladimir V. Putin said his troops could continue to fight, but without their belligerent leader.
However, on the video, Mr. Prigozhin still appears to be the head of a large group of fighters. He did not diminish his criticism of the top Russian commanders and called the situation on the front lines in Ukraine a “disgrace” in which Wagner fighters “should not participate”. He also left open the possibility of Wagner troops returning to fight in Ukraine.
“We have to wait for the moment when we can fully prove ourselves,” says the figure believed to be Prigozhin in the video, his face never fully shown. “Perhaps we will return to the special military operation, unless we should be ashamed of ourselves and our experience.”
The Times has verified that the video was shot at a Wagner camp in the village of Tsel’ near the town of Asipovichy, about 80 kilometers southeast of the Belarusian capital Minsk. It was filmed Tuesday night.
To verify the videos, the Times compared features seen in them — two large buildings and uniquely colored tents — with the same features appearing in satellite images captured Wednesday.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Belarusian monitoring group came Hajun project followed a jet previously associated with Mr Prigozhin until it landed at a military airport south of the capital Minsk.
Early Wednesday, after the video was shot at the camp, the same plane was tracked as it left Belarus and flew towards Moscow. The Times previously reported that columns of Wagner Group vehicles arrived at the camp on Monday.
In the video, the man who closely resembles Mr. Prigozhin can be seen speaking to hundreds of fighters who applaud and whistle. After he finishes, he gives the floor to Dmitri Utkin, the mercenary whose nom de guerre, Wagner, gave the group its name. “This is not the end,” says Mr. Utkin. “This is the beginning of the greatest task in the world.”
Last week, the Belarusian defense ministry said Wagner fighters were training his army in defense and battlefield tactics, and state television reported that the mercenaries had already begun instructing regular troops near Asipovichy. The report could not be independently confirmed.
Since Mr. Prigozhin abruptly ended his mutiny on June 24, the Kremlin has publicly worked to reduce Mr. Prigozhin’s role in Russian politics and downplay his part in the war effort. His media empire, including several news websites, has been shut down. Russian state television has portrayed him as a petty and immoral thug hoarding money, guns, passports and possibly drugs.