{"id":803,"date":"2023-08-23T23:42:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-23T20:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/?post_type=longreads&#038;p=803"},"modified":"2023-09-02T17:24:13","modified_gmt":"2023-09-02T14:24:13","slug":"prigozhins-death-gives-minsk-opportunity-to-defuse-tension-with-neighbors","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/803\/","title":{"rendered":"Prigozhin\u2019s death gives Minsk opportunity to defuse tension with neighbors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"block-image block-image-normal\">\n\n    <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" src=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/280f900f7895602b578027b48b7fa503.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/280f900f7895602b578027b48b7fa503.jpg 800w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/280f900f7895602b578027b48b7fa503-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/280f900f7895602b578027b48b7fa503-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/>\n    <figcaption>\n                    <div class=\"block-image__descr\">\n\n                \u0415\u0432\u0433\u0435\u043d\u0438\u0439 \u041f\u0440\u0438\u0433\u043e\u0436\u0438\u043d\n            <\/div>\n        \n                    <div class=\"block-image__author\">\n                \u0424\u043e\u0442\u043e:                <span>\u0424\u0435\u0434\u0435\u0440\u0430\u043b\u041f\u0440\u0435\u0441\u0441<\/span>\n            <\/div>\n            <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The death of Wagner Group leaders may ease neighbors\u2019 concerns about mercenaries stationed in Belarus. Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka is likely to nudge Russian President Vladimir Putin to provide cash for funding the fighters or take them back to Russia.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yevgeny Prigozhin\u2019s plane crushed in Russia\u2019s Tver province on August 23. After the accident, Moscow is highly unlikely to use Wagner fighters for attacks on Ukraine or Belarus\u2019 European Union neighbors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Kremlin ruins Prigozhin\u2019s empire<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Speculation is rife that Putin \u2014 who is notoriously unforgiving of traitors and accused Prigozhin of \u201ctreason\u201d in June \u2014 ordered the downing of the aircraft exactly two months after the failed coup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When Wagner forces marched on Moscow, the Kremlin used \u0141uka\u0161enka to persuade their commander to end the mutiny and arrange for the relocation of thousands of his fighters to Belarus. However, Putin and \u0141uka\u0161enka are said to have failed to reach an understanding on who pays for the party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the last two months, the Kremlin has taken consistent action to ruin Prigozhin\u2019s business empire and seize his assets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Christo Grozev of Bellingcat says that Prigozhin was travelling from Mali, where he had tried to prevent Russia\u2019s Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) agents from forcing Wagner fighters out of the country and Africa. According to him, Prigozhin and his associates made a stop in Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Based on reports from Bellingcat, Putin and Prigozhin have not ironed out their differences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u0141uka\u0161enka put on a show during his meeting with Putin in St. Petersburg on July 23, threatening to unleash the Wagner Group on Poland. He claimed that Wagner militants based in Belarus were eager to carry out incursions into Warsaw and Rzesz\u00f3w, a hub in southeastern Poland for Western military equipment bound for Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Two weeks later he said his threat was just a joke and expressed readiness to improve relations with Poland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Neighbors\u2019 concerns<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The presence of Wagner fighters in Belarus fanned fears that Minsk and Moscow may use them to destabilize Latvia, Lithuanian and Poland. On August 18, Lithuania closed the \u0160umskas and Tvere\u010dius checkpoints, citing the lack of equipment for scanning truck trailers and security concerns, including Russia&#8217;s Wagner Group mercenaries in Belarus. The three countries were discussing a complete border closure in response to possible incidents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Prigozhin\u2019s death can somewhat assuage their concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Meanwhile, Belarusian opposition leader \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja and others mocked \u0141uka\u0161enka for his alleged failure to honor the security guarantees he had given to Prigozhin to persuade him to call off the uprising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The accusations are unfounded. \u0141uka\u0161enka actually delivered on his promise that Russian troops would not attack the Wagner fighters if they called off their march and withdrew to Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u0141uka\u0161enka could not guarantee Prigozhin\u2019s safety all over the world. The mercenary chief could have been shot in Africa, where he said he was a few days ago. His plane crushed in Russia, not Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBut if you think that Putin is so bloody-minded and unforgiving, and that he [Prigozhin] will be assassinated somewhere tomorrow . . . It will not happen,\u201d \u0141uka\u0161enka told reporters on July 6. Ironically, he was right that Prigozhin would not be killed \u201ctomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Wagner fighters are a headache<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u0141uka\u0161enka may now nudge Putin to decide what to do with the fighters living at the tent camp near Asipovi\u010dy, Minsk region. The Belarusian ruler expected Prigozhin to foot their bill and take them to Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to unconfirmed reports, \u0141uka\u0161enka discussed financial arrangements with Putin in July, but they did not reach a deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is not only a matter of money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u0141uka\u0161enka and Putin seem to be undecided on how to use them. The Belarusian army cannot employ all Wagner fighters as instructors. Any border incidents involving mercenaries may prompt Latvia, Lithuania and Poland to close the border with Belarus. This is something Minsk and Moscow are interested to avoid. Wagner\u2019s African prospects have faded with its chief\u2019s death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u0141uka\u0161enka may eventually ask Putin to take the mercenaries back to Russia. It would be a big relief for Belarus\u2019 EU neighbors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The death of Wagner Group leaders may ease neighbors\u2019 concerns about mercenaries stationed in Belarus. Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka is likely to nudge Russian President Vladimir Putin to provide cash for funding the fighters or take them back to Russia. Yevgeny Prigozhin\u2019s plane crushed in Russia\u2019s Tver province on August 23. After the accident, Moscow is highly [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":787,"template":"","rubric":[16,24],"class_list":["post-803","longreads","type-longreads","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","rubric-politics","rubric-theviewer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Prigozhin\u2019s death gives Minsk opportunity to defuse tension with neighbors | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The death of Wagner Group leaders may ease neighbors\u2019 concerns about mercenaries stationed in Belarus. Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka is likely to nudge Russian\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/803\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Prigozhin\u2019s death gives Minsk opportunity to defuse tension with neighbors | Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The death of Wagner Group leaders may ease neighbors\u2019 concerns about mercenaries stationed in Belarus. Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka is likely to nudge Russian\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/803\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-09-02T14:24:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/280f900f7895602b578027b48b7fa503.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"533\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Pozirk_online\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/803\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/803\/\"},\"headline\":\"Prigozhin\u2019s death gives Minsk opportunity to defuse tension with neighbors\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-08-23T20:42:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-09-02T14:24:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/803\/\"},\"wordCount\":698,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/803\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/280f900f7895602b578027b48b7fa503.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/803\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/803\/\",\"name\":\"Prigozhin\u2019s death gives Minsk opportunity to defuse tension with neighbors | Pozirk\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/803\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/803\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/280f900f7895602b578027b48b7fa503.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-08-23T20:42:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-09-02T14:24:13+00:00\",\"description\":\"The death of Wagner Group leaders may ease neighbors\u2019 concerns about mercenaries stationed in Belarus. Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka is likely to nudge Russian\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/803\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/803\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/803\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/280f900f7895602b578027b48b7fa503.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/280f900f7895602b578027b48b7fa503.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":533},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/803\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Prigozhin\u2019s death gives Minsk opportunity to defuse tension with neighbors\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Pozirk\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Pozirk\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"Pozirk\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/Pozirk_online\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Prigozhin\u2019s death gives Minsk opportunity to defuse tension with neighbors | Pozirk","description":"The death of Wagner Group leaders may ease neighbors\u2019 concerns about mercenaries stationed in Belarus. Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka is likely to nudge Russian","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/803\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Prigozhin\u2019s death gives Minsk opportunity to defuse tension with neighbors | Pozirk","og_description":"The death of Wagner Group leaders may ease neighbors\u2019 concerns about mercenaries stationed in Belarus. Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka is likely to nudge Russian","og_url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/803\/","og_site_name":"Pozirk","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/","article_modified_time":"2023-09-02T14:24:13+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":533,"url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/280f900f7895602b578027b48b7fa503.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@Pozirk_online","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/803\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/803\/"},"headline":"Prigozhin\u2019s death gives Minsk opportunity to defuse tension with neighbors","datePublished":"2023-08-23T20:42:00+00:00","dateModified":"2023-09-02T14:24:13+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/803\/"},"wordCount":698,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/803\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/280f900f7895602b578027b48b7fa503.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/803\/","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/803\/","name":"Prigozhin\u2019s death gives Minsk opportunity to defuse tension with neighbors | Pozirk","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/803\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/803\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/280f900f7895602b578027b48b7fa503.jpg","datePublished":"2023-08-23T20:42:00+00:00","dateModified":"2023-09-02T14:24:13+00:00","description":"The death of Wagner Group leaders may ease neighbors\u2019 concerns about mercenaries stationed in Belarus. Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka is likely to nudge Russian","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/803\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/803\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/803\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/280f900f7895602b578027b48b7fa503.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/280f900f7895602b578027b48b7fa503.jpg","width":800,"height":533},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/803\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Prigozhin\u2019s death gives Minsk opportunity to defuse tension with neighbors"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/","name":"Pozirk","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization","name":"Pozirk","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"Pozirk"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/","https:\/\/x.com\/Pozirk_online"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/longreads\/803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/longreads"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/longreads"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"rubric","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rubric?post=803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}