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Lukashenko: I warned Prigozhin to be careful

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said that he warned the head of the Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, and Dmitry Utkin to beware of possible threats to their lives, and that he insisted that Wagner fighters should stay in Belarus.

Russian President Vladimir Putin initially vowed to crush Prigozhin's uprising in June, but hours later a deal was reached that allowed Prigozhin and some of his mercenaries to go to Belarus, the Guardian reported.

Lukashenko pointed out that Prigozhin twice avoided concerns raised by the Belarusian leader about threats on his life. Lukashenko has said that during the uprising he had warned Prigozhin that he would "die" if he continued towards Moscow, to which Prigozhin said he replied: "To hell with it - I will die."

He stated that Putin had no hand in the downing of Progozhin's plane.