Jet linked to Prigozhin arrives in Belarus, Wagner Group chief says purported mutiny was just a 'protest'

Neither Yevgeny Prigozhin nor his fighters will face prosecution by Russian authorities after their short-lived armed rebellion

A jet linked to Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin landed in Belarus from Russia on Tuesday, days after he called off his armed rebellion against?the Russian military.?

Flight tracking website Flightradar24 showed an Embraer Legacy 600 jet, bearing identification codes that match a plane linked to Prigozhin in U.S. sanctions documents, descending to landing altitude near the Belarus capital Minsk, Reuters reported. It first appeared on the tracking site above Rostov, the southern Russian city Prigozhin's fighters captured on Saturday.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko confirmed the jet carried Prigozhin to exile after the Kremlin said it made a deal where Prigozhin would move to Belarus and his fighters would not be prosecuted. Lukashenko said Tuesday that Prigozhin has moved to Belarus and that Wagner Group troops would be welcome to stay in the country "for some time" at their own expense, according to the Associated Press.?

Russian authorities announced Tuesday a criminal investigation into the Wagner Group's purported mutiny has been closed, with no charges filed against anyone involved.?

The Federal Security Service said its investigation revealed that the participants in the mutiny had "ceased actions directly aimed at committing the crime," Reuters reported, citing Russia's RIA state news agency.?

Despite?Russian President Vladimir Putin?calling them traitors, the Kremlin stated over the weekend that it would not prosecute Prigozhin and his troops after he pulled his men back on Saturday to avoid bloodshed, less than 24 hours after the revolt began. Prigozhin said he would go to Belarus at the invitation of Lukashenko. However, details of his proposed journey into exile were not made public, and his whereabouts remained unconfirmed for three days.

His last public appearance was Saturday night, when he was seen smiling and high-fiving bystanders while an SUV carried him out of Rostov after Wagner Group forces made their about-face. ?

Putin delivered a speech Monday night, when he condemned the mutiny leaders but did not mention Prigozhin by name. Putin said Wagner fighters would be allowed to leave for Belarus, join the Russian military or go home.?

Prigozhin avoiding prosecution contrasts with how the Kremlin has been responding to people staging anti-government protests. Many opposition figures in Russia received lengthy prison sentences and are serving time in penal colonies known for harsh conditions.

Until Prigozhin's mutiny, the 62-year-old ex-convict and mercenary leader was a long-time Putin ally whose Wagner fighters participated in the bloodiest battles of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Prigozhin claimed he launched the rebellion to oust Russian military leaders who he had accused of corruption and incompetence in prosecuting the war.?

Wagner mercenaries ostensibly seized control of Russian military facilities in the city of Rostov-on-Don Saturday morning and had nearly advanced to Moscow later that day when Prigozhin called off his march. The only reported incident of violence was a confrontation between Wagner forces and a Russian helicopter that ended with the aircraft being shot down, he said.?

"We went as a demonstration of protest, not to overthrow the government of the country," Prigozhin said in an audio message posted to social media Monday.?

Putin confirmed on Monday that Russian pilots had been killed fighting Wagner mercenaries and thanked Russians for remaining united during the crisis.?

He said Russia's enemies wanted to see the country "choke in bloody civil strife," but Russia would not succumb to "any blackmail, any attempt to create internal turmoil," according to Reuters.

The short-lived rebellion was seen as the biggest challenge to Putin's rule in his more than 20 years in power.?

On Monday night, the Kremlin showed Putin meeting with top security, law enforcement and military officials, including Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, whose removal was demanded by Prigozhin. Earlier on Monday, the Defense Ministry released a video of Shoigu?inspecting troops in Ukraine.

Prigozhin said Monday that the Belarusian leadership proposed solutions that would allow the Wagner Group to operate "in a legal jurisdiction." He provided no further details on the extent of those operations.?

Fox News' Landon Mion, Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.?

附譯文

瓦格納集團負責人表示，與普里戈津有關(guān)的噴氣式飛機抵達白俄羅斯，所謂的兵變只是一場“抗議”

葉夫根尼·普里戈津和他的戰(zhàn)士在短暫的武裝叛亂后都不會面臨俄羅斯當局的起訴

周二，一架與瓦格納集團（Wagner Group）總裁葉夫根尼·普里戈津（Yevgeny Prigozhin）有關(guān)的噴氣式飛機從俄羅斯降落在白俄羅斯，幾天前，普里戈津取消了對俄羅斯軍方的武裝叛亂。

據(jù)路透社報道，飛行跟蹤網(wǎng)站Flightradar24顯示，一架巴西航空工業(yè)公司Legacy 600噴氣式飛機降落到白俄羅斯首都明斯克附近的降落高度，其識別碼與美國制裁文件中與普里戈津有關(guān)的一架飛機相匹配。它首次出現(xiàn)在羅斯托夫上空的追蹤現(xiàn)場，羅斯托夫是俄羅斯南部城市普里戈津的戰(zhàn)斗機于周六捕獲的。

白俄羅斯總統(tǒng)亞歷山大·盧卡申科證實，這架噴氣式飛機載著普里戈津流亡海外，此前克里姆林宮表示，已達成協(xié)議，普里戈津?qū)⒁凭影锥砹_斯，他的戰(zhàn)士不會被起訴。據(jù)美聯(lián)社報道，盧卡申科周二表示，普里戈津已轉(zhuǎn)移到白俄羅斯，歡迎瓦格納集團的部隊自費在該國停留“一段時間”。

俄羅斯當局星期二宣布，對瓦格納集團所謂兵變的刑事調(diào)查已經(jīng)結(jié)束，沒有對任何涉案人員提出指控。

路透社援引俄羅斯RIA國家通訊社的報道稱，聯(lián)邦安全局表示，其調(diào)查顯示，兵變參與者已“停止了直接旨在犯罪的行動”。

盡管俄羅斯總統(tǒng)弗拉基米爾·普京（Vladimir Putin）稱他們?yōu)榕淹?，但克里姆林宮在周末表示，不會起訴普里戈津及其部隊，因為普里戈津在叛亂開始不到24小時后，于周六將其手下撤回以避免流血。普里戈津表示，他將應盧卡申科的邀請前往白俄羅斯。然而，他計劃流亡的細節(jié)沒有公開，他的下落在三天內(nèi)仍未得到證實。

他最后一次公開露面是在周六晚上，在瓦格納集團的部隊做出改變后，一輛SUV將他抬出羅斯托夫時，有人看到他面帶微笑，向旁觀者擊掌致意。

普京星期一晚上發(fā)表講話，譴責叛變領(lǐng)導人，但沒有提到普里戈津的名字。普京表示，瓦格納戰(zhàn)士將被允許前往白俄羅斯，加入俄羅斯軍隊或回國。

普里戈辛避免被起訴，這與克里姆林宮對人們舉行反政府抗議的反應形成了鮮明對比。俄羅斯許多反對派人士被判處長期監(jiān)禁，目前正在以惡劣條件著稱的流放地服刑。

在普里戈津叛變之前，這位62歲的前罪犯和雇傭軍領(lǐng)袖一直是普京的長期盟友，瓦格納的戰(zhàn)士參加了俄羅斯入侵烏克蘭最血腥的戰(zhàn)斗。普里戈津聲稱，他發(fā)動叛亂是為了驅(qū)逐俄羅斯軍事領(lǐng)導人，他指責這些領(lǐng)導人在起訴戰(zhàn)爭時腐敗無能。

周六上午，瓦格納雇傭軍表面上奪取了俄羅斯羅斯托夫市軍事設(shè)施的控制權(quán)，當天晚些時候，普里戈津取消了他的進軍，他們幾乎已經(jīng)挺進莫斯科。他說，唯一報道的暴力事件是瓦格納部隊與一架俄羅斯直升機之間的對峙，最終飛機被擊落。

普里戈辛周一在社交媒體上發(fā)布的一條音頻消息中說：“我們?nèi)ナ菫榱丝棺h，而不是推翻國家政府。”。

普京周一證實，俄羅斯飛行員在與瓦格納雇傭軍的戰(zhàn)斗中喪生，并感謝俄羅斯人在危機期間保持團結(jié)。

據(jù)路透社報道，他表示，俄羅斯的敵人希望看到該國“陷入血腥的內(nèi)亂”，但俄羅斯不會屈服于“任何勒索，任何制造內(nèi)部動蕩的企圖”。

這場短暫的叛亂被視為普京執(zhí)政20多年來對其統(tǒng)治的最大挑戰(zhàn)。

周一晚上，克里姆林宮顯示普京會見了包括國防部長謝爾蓋·紹伊古在內(nèi)的高級安全、執(zhí)法和軍事官員，普里戈辛要求將其免職。周一早些時候，國防部發(fā)布了紹伊古視察烏克蘭軍隊的視頻。

普里戈津周一表示，白俄羅斯領(lǐng)導層提出了允許瓦格納集團“在法律管轄范圍內(nèi)”運營的解決方案。他沒有提供這些運營范圍的進一步細節(jié)。

?？怂剐侣劦腖andon Mion、路透社和美聯(lián)社對此報道做出了貢獻。