Ukraine war – live: Exiled Wagner boss Prigozhin ‘back in Russia weeks after failed mutiny’

Exiled Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin is back in Russia weeks after his failed mutiny. Having brokered a deal last month, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko told reporters on Thursday: “As for Prigozhin, he’s in St Petersburg. He is not on the territory of Belarus.” Lukashenko had confirmed that Prigozhin had arrived in Belarus as part of the deal on 27 June. Vladimir Putin’s security chiefs previously said they had launched a criminal case against the head of the country’s mercenary forces for allegedly calling for armed mutiny. In an explosive rant on Telegram, Yevgeny Prigozhin had vowed to stop the “evil” of the Kremlin’s top brass, whom he accused of “destroying” his fighters and concocting lies to justify invading Ukraine - saying Vladimir Putin had been “deceived” by the defence ministry. The Russian president had been briefed and “necessary measures are being taken”, Moscow’s Interfax news agency said in response, citing Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. The millionaire head of private military contractor Wagner had accused his country’s defence ministry of trying to deceive society and Mr Putin with fabricated claims of Ukrainian aggression for their own personal gain. Read More Suspect in Ukraine detonates explosives at a courthouse, killing himself and wounding 2 officers Zelensky says Russia has planted explosives on Ukraine nuclear plant Ukraine and Russia trade accusations of imminent attack on Europe's largest nuclear plant.