Saint Petersburg: Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko held a meeting in Saint Petersburg's Konstantinovsky palace, marking their first encounter since Lukashenko helped broker a deal to end a mutiny by Wagner fighters inside Russia.
A video released by Lukashenko's press service showed the two longtime leaders arriving together for scheduled talks.
During the meeting, Putin informed Lukashenko about the Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russian forces in Ukraine, stating that it had "failed," according to Russian news agencies. Lukashenko responded by confirming that Russian Wagner mercenaries were being held in central Belarus under his control and that they had requested permission to travel westward to Warsaw and Rzeszow. However, Lukashenko asserted that he was keeping the mercenaries within Belarus, in accordance with their prior agreement, reported AFP.
"We are controlling what is happening (with Wagner)," Lukashenko stated, adding that the mercenaries were in a "bad mood."
Following the talks, Putin and Lukashenko made a rare walkabout and met with a crowd of people in Russia's Kronstadt town on Kotlin Island. They posed for photographs with the public, with their bodyguards nearby. When asked about quarantine rules, Putin responded that people were more important than quarantine.
The Ukrainian counter-offensive, launched last month, has seen limited progress against well-entrenched Russian forces that currently control more than one-sixth of Ukraine's territory after nearly 17 months of conflict. US General Mark Milley, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, described the Ukrainian drive as "far from a failure" but cautioned that it would be a long, difficult, and bloody endeavour.
According to a Telegram channel linked to Lukashenko, fighters of Russia's Wagner mercenary group, now involved in training Belarus's army, expressed a desire to push westward towards NATO member Poland. Lukashenko humorously quoted the Wagner fighters as saying, "Let's go on a trip to Warsaw and Rzeszow." However, there was no indication that he took the idea seriously.
In response to the presence of Wagner forces near its border, Poland is deploying additional troops to bolster security. Wagner fighters had relocated to Belarus after a brief mutiny in Russia last month.