A plane linked to Wagner Group chief Prigozhin and believed to be carrying him into exile landed in Belarus from the southern Russian city of Rostov early on Tuesday, a flight tracking service said.
According to US-based think tank Institute for the Study of War, Putin may be presenting Belarus as a haven for Wagner fighters “as a trap.”
“The Kremlin will likely regard the Wagner Group personnel who follow Prigozhin to Belarus as traitors whether or not it takes immediate action against them,” it said.
The think-tank raised doubts over Putin’s promise to the Wagner fighters in the long-term, asserting that the personnel in Belarus are “unlikely to remain safe” from Russian extradition orders if Putin reneges and charges them with treason.
Notably, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko previously turned over 33 Wagner personnel detained in his country to Moscow after using them as leverage against the Kremlin in 2020.
The ISW said there is no apparent reason why he would not do so again.