Wagner Group could lead attack on Kyiv from Belarus – British general

Former British Army chief of general staff, General Lord Richard Dannatt has said that Ukraine should beware of a possible attack on Kyiv by the Wagner PMC mercenaries led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, who left for Belarus after the mutiny attempt.

Ukrinform reports this with reference to Sky News.

"The fact that he's gone to Belarus is a matter of some concern," General Dannatt said.

Ukraine's leaders must guard against a possible attack led by Yevgeny Prigozhin launched at Kyiv from Belarus, said the former British Army chief of general staff.

If he has "kept an effective fighting force around him then he presents a threat again to the Ukrainian flank closest to Kyiv", where the war began, General Dannatt added.

According to him, it "is quite possible" that Russia may use the Wagner Group to try and take Kyiv again.

Nonetheless, there were no immediate "winners" from "yesterday's fiasco", he said.

"Putin is definitely much diminished. The Russian military... is clearly in some disarray," said Lord Dannatt.

As reported, on June 23, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner Group, announced a démarche against the Russian military leadership, in particular against Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. He claimed his army took control of Rostov-on-Don and part of Voronezh region, after which Wagner mercenaries started heading toward Moscow.

On June 24, the self-proclaimed president of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko, in coordination with Russian President Putin, held talks with Prigozhin. Following the talks, the private army's leader announced he was turning his forces around from a march toward Moscow.