Prigozhin arrives in St Petersburg, takes back seized weapons
Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner Private Military Company (PMC), personally arrived in St Petersburg on 4 July, where the weapons seized during the searches were returned to him.
Source: Russian media outlet Fontanka with reference to sources
Quote: "On 4 July, at 17:00, a 7-Series BMW and a Land Cruiser with security guards accompanying it drove up to the building of the Federal Security Service Department of St Petersburg and [Leningrad] Oblast on Liteyny Prospekt.
According to Fontanka, the motorcade was parked near Shpalernaya Street, 25. The back door of the BMW opened, Yevgeny Prigozhin got out and, after walking just a few metres, opened the massive doors with the sign ‘Reception’ to the right of them.
Details: According to the outlet, on Tuesday, Prigozhin was returned two Saiga rifles, an Austrian Steyr Mannlicher rifle, an AR semi-automatic rifle and several other rifles and pistols.
Soon he got out, and the people accompanying him took out their rifles and put them in the car. The motorcade left.
A few hours earlier, the leader of Wagner PMC was officially invited to take back his weapons found during the searches on 24 June and seized in his country residence in the elite cottage village of Northern Versailles.
Background:
- On the evening of 23 June, Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed that the regular Russian army had launched a missile strike on the Wagner mercenaries’ rear camps. He therefore deployed 25,000 of his mercenaries "to restore justice".
- On 24 June, the Wagner mercenaries took control of military facilities in Rostov-on-Don and seized military facilities in Voronezh, and were on their way to Moscow, and the Russian capital was already preparing for defence.
- In an emergency address, dictator Vladimir Putin talked of betrayal and attempts to "organise a rebellion". Ukrainian intelligence had information that Putin had urgently left Moscow for his residence in Valdai.
- In the evening of the same day, after a conversation with self-proclaimed President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, Prigozhin said that his mercenaries were returning to field camps. The criminal case against Prigozhin in Russia was promised to be closed, and he was to "go to Belarus".
- On 27 June, Prigozhin's business jet left from the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don for Belarus, and another plane arrived there from St Petersburg.
- The FSB reported that the criminal case on "armed rebellion" against the head of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, had been terminated.
- Alexander Lukashenko claimed that Yevgeniy Prigozhin had arrived in Belarus.
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