BlackSky satellite images show that two planes linked to the PMC "Wagner" founder Yevgeny Prigozhyn landed at a Belarusian airbase near Minsk on the morning of June 27.
This is reported by the CNN channel.
The exact location of Prigozhin is still unknown. Since he left the Rostov-on-Don military headquarters on the evening of June 23, neither photos nor videos of him have been published.
However, the self-proclaimed president of Belarus Oleksandr Lukashenko stated that Prigozhin is in Belarus.
A BlackSky satellite image taken on the morning of June 27 shows two aircraft with serial numbers RA-20795 and RA-02878 on the runway at Machulyshchi Air Base near Minsk. CNN reporters confirmed that these planes had arrived there within the last day and were the same size as Prigozhinʼs planes.
According to FlightRadar24, the planes landed near Minsk around 8:00 a.m. local time. Before landing, both planes had their transponders turned off to conceal the exact landing location.
A senior European intelligence official and a source familiar with Prigozhinʼs planes confirmed that the planes were linked to the PMC "Wagner" founder, but it was not known whether Prigozhin was on board.
The monitoring group "Belarusian Hajun" also reported that his plane had arrived at the "Machulyshchi" military airfield.
- On the evening of June 23, the founder of the Russian PMC Wagner Yevgeny Prigozhin accused the Russian military of hitting the mercenary rear camp, "a huge number of fighters died." The command for the destruction of the PMC "Wagner" was allegedly given by Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov after a meeting with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. Prigozhin announced the beginning of the "march of justice", took control of Rostovʼs military facilities, including the airfield, and the "Wagnerians" began to move towards Moscow.
- On the evening of June 24, the self-proclaimed president of Belarus Oleksandr Lukashenko agreed with Prigozhin "about the inadmissibility of unleashing a bloody massacre on the territory of Russia." Then Prigozhin announced that they were disbanding the columns and returning to the field camps. After that, it became known that Prigozhin would go to Belarus (Ukraine was assured that there was no threat of an attack by the "Wagnerians" from the north).
- On June 26, Yevgeny Prigozhin stated that he started the mutiny in Russia because the local authorities wanted to liquidate the PMC from July 1 and transfer the fighters to the responsibility of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.