With all eyes on Russia, the British commander warned: New front open
The agenda in the world is the short-term coup attempt in the country when the Russian mercenary group Wagner, which played a key role in the war in Ukraine, challenged Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The uprising ended a few hours later, with an agreement reached as Wagner’s fighters advanced on Moscow, but it caused a great uproar inside Russia. After the event that shook Putin’s power, Wagner’s leader Yevgeni Prigojin, the leader of the rebellion, agreed to go to Belarus.
While the fate of Prigojin and Wagner, who were declared “traitors” by Putin, created controversy, a striking warning came from England. Richard Dannatt, one of the leading figures in the British army, said Prigokhin’s visit to Belarus opened a new front in the Ukrainian war.
Prigokhin left the Rostov headquarters, which was captured by Wagner fighters in Russia after the deal made the day before.
Noting that details of Prigojin’s deal with Putin are unknown, Dannatt said Wagner’s leader could declare Belarus’ war on Ukraine, saying: “Ukraine should be very careful about the border with Belarus.”
‘ZELENSKY SHOULD SEND SOLDIERS TO THE BORDER’
Nearly 24 hours after the uprising, Prigojin agreed to go to Belarus with a deal brokered by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko.
Defending that the deal, which stipulates that he and Wagner’s fighters will not be punished, contains new risks for the Ukraine war, the British commander told Sky News: “We don’t know how many fighters went with Prigojin. I think this is worrying. “If he has maintained an effective fighting force, he can pose a threat to Ukraine from the north,” he said.
Ukraine’s border with Belarus is about 160 kilometers from the capital kyiv. Calling on Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy to quickly send more troops to this border, Dannatt said: “The Russians have used this point before and they can do it again.”