Yevgeny Prigozhin: Wagner chief Prigozhin took refuge in Belarus, confirmed by President Alexander Lukashenko

Prigozhin, who was the architect of the rebellion against Putin, reached Belarus on Tuesday. However, there were reports of his jet reaching Minsk and returning from there. But the whereabouts of Prigozhin himself remained a mystery. Late in the evening, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko confirmed his asylum there. The Russian Federal Security Service said it had found in its investigation that the people involved in the uprising had ceased activities with the intent to commit crimes, so the investigation would not be pursued.

The criminal investigation against Wagner group fighters closed

Russia has dropped a criminal investigation into fighters from the Wagner group that sparked the biggest crisis against President Vladimir Putin. Russian authorities said on Tuesday that charges against the head of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, and all other fighters had been dropped. The news agency RIA also reported on Tuesday, quoting the Ministry of Defense, that Wagner Group is preparing to return all its weapons, including heavy military equipment, to the ministry.

Pilots confirmed dead during the mutiny

Putin also paid tribute on Monday to the pilots who died during the failed uprising. In his first address after the mutiny, Putin said that these hero pilots had saved Russia from a great crisis by giving their lives. Putin's tribute to the pilots confirms reports that Prigozhin's Wagner militia shot down several planes during the capture of the city of Rostov-on-Don.

Putin meets soldiers

Putin tried to show that everything was under control by meeting soldiers in the Kremlin's Cathedral Square on Tuesday. Addressing the soldiers and security service personnel, he thanked them for averting a civil war situation in Moscow.

Also Read: Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner Group, claims that the Russian army deliberately attacked his army