Wagner boss Prigozhin, the warlord who railed against the Russian military and led a failed mutiny, has all but disappeared
- Yevgeny Prigozhin has retreated into the shadows since his failed rebellion against Russian military leaders.
- He has not been seen in public since July 4, when he was spotted in St. Petersburg.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the outspoken leader of the Wagner mercenary group who led a mutiny against Russian leaders last month, has all but disappeared from the public eye as the Kremlin tries to limit the fallout from his armed revolt.
On Monday, the Kremlin announced that the rebel leader, whom Russian President Vladimir Putin had discussed having assassinated, met with him five days after the failed rebellion. This is a timeline of Prigozhin's reported whereabouts:
June 24: Prigozhin publicly called off his forces who were marching toward Moscow as part of an armed insurrection against top Russian military officials.
June 26: Prigozhin posted an audio message saying that the "purpose of the march was to prevent the destruction of PMC Wagner and to bring to justice those who, through their unprofessional actions, made a huge number of mistakes during the special military operation," referring to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
June 27: A private jet linked to Prigozhin arrived in Belarus. The Wagner leader was going to be exiled to Belarus under the terms of a deal that Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, brokered to end the insurrection.
June 29: Prigozhin had a face-to-face meeting with Putin, according to the Kremlin, raising questions about whether Prigozhin went to Belarus in the first place. No photographs or videos of the Putin-Prigozhin meeting have been released. The Kremlin claims Prigozhin pledged his loyalty to the Russian leader during their meeting, which came days after Putin said, without naming Prigozhin, that the "organizers of the rebellion" had betrayed "their country" and "their people."
July 3: Prigozhin released his last audio message, in which he said the so-called "March of Justice" was "aimed at fighting traitors and mobilizing our society. In the near future, I am sure that you will see our next victories at the front. Thanks guys!"
July 4: Prigozhin was seen arriving at the FSB state security building in his home city of St. Petersburg and given back some of his weapons, according to the independent Russian news outlet Fontanka.
July 6: Prigozhin may have flown to Moscow sometime between July 4 and July 6. According to Flightradar24, the jet linked to Prigozhin flew from Moscow to St. Petersburg on July 6. Lukashenko confirmed that day that the Wagner boss was back in St. Petersburg, and he added that the final agreement on the terms of Prigozhin's exile was not finalized.
Prigozhin is still in Russia, according to Belarusian officials and Russian media reports, but the he's retreated into the shadows since his failed rebellion. He has not posted any audio messages since July 3, and his social media accounts have stopped responding to questions from the press. A top Russian general, said to have known in advance of Prigozhin's coup attempt, was taken in for questioning and his whereabouts remain unknown.
Putin, for his part, faces a unique challenge where Prigozhin is concerned. The Russian leader — who has long been accused of ordering the imprisonment and assassinations of those he deemed disloyal — shocked former US intelligence officials by allowing Prigozhin to live, and stay in Russia.
"The thought that immediately comes to mind is this is a sign of Putin's weakness" amid Russia's continued losses in the Ukraine war, Glenn Carle, a former CIA spy who was stationed in Russia, told Insider last week. It indicates that "there are various factions that Putin has to placate" and that Prigozhin "has supporters within the power structure that Putin can't afford to cross."