>>> Good morning, everyone.
We're glad you're with us.
I'm poppy Harlow alongside
Victor Blackwell.
A dramatic turn of events for
the mercy their leader accused
of launching a real about an I
don't know rebellion.
Yevgeny prigozhin is back in
Russia instead of being in exile
in Belarus.
>> This is as state media
reports that they raided
prigozhin's properties in St.
Petersburg.
The Russian government had
claimed that it was dropping
charges against him.
And they say they uncovered
stashes of gold, money, wigs and
guns and passports allegedly
belonging to the mercenary
leader.
We have team coverage from
Washington to Belarus.
Let's start with Matthew chance
in Minsk.
You spoke with the president and
you got an answer to the
question that everyone has been
wondering about the whereabouts
of prigozhin.
>> Reporter: Yeah, and we were
all absolutely shocked by the
answer of the leader of Belarus,
Alexander lukashenko.
I'm at the palace of
Independence which is one of
lukashenko's main offices in the
center of Minsk.
And he called a few members of
the international press around
to hold what he said was a
conversation about the events
that have been unfolding over
the course of the past couple
weeks or so.
And I asked him specifically
what could he tell us about
Wagner, about the mercenary
Russian group, and about its
leader yevgeny prigozhin who he
had offered exile in Belarus in
exchange for them calling off
the armed rebellion that they
staged in Russia last week.
Take a listen to what lukashenko
had to say.
>> I wonder if you could provide
us all with a bit of an updathereabouts leader
yevgeny prigozhin.
Is he in Belarus?
>> Translator: In terms of
yevgeny prigozhin, is he in St.
Petersburg.
Or maybe this morning he would
travel to Moscow or elsewhere.
But he is not on the territory
of Belarus now.
>> Reporter: Not on the
territory of Belarus, which is
something that we did not know
before this morning.
Also I asked him about whether
Wagner forces, the fighters of
Wagner, had taken up his offer
and relocated to Belarus as
well.
That was also part of the deal
that lukashenko offered.
And he said as yet no Wagner
fighters have come to Belarus
and he is not at the moment
preparing any facilities to
house them.
So it all hints at the idea that
this deal that was brokered to
bring to an end the military
uprising in Russia last week is
being reviewed, programs the
Kremlin is reviewing it, and
that is backed up by the fact
Russian TV has new video of a
police raid in St. Petersburg,
the Russian city of yevgeny
prigozhin's house, and they
found extraordinary things
there.
Weapons, cash, gold, passports,
some of which said to have
multiple identities of yevgeny
prigozhin and wig as well
presumably for disguise.
And it is all really
discrediting the Wagner leader.
And it does imply that there may
be some kind of move against him
by the Russian authorities.
I've asked the Kremlin to
comment, and when they get back
to me, I'll let you know.
>> On that point in that
conversation, you and others had
with lukashenko, he was asked
what happens to Putin next and
he essentially said -- what
happens to prigozhin next and he
essentially said everything
happens in life.
But then seemed to say don't
worry, Putin won't be dumb
enough to have him killed.
>> Reporter: Yes, look, he was
pretty noncommittal about what
happens to prigozhin.
And he said a number of times
that he wasn't able to read the
future, et cetera, et cetera.
But he said look, he does not
think that Putin at this point
would kill yevgeny prigozhin.
But the fact that he even
mentioned that as a possibility
I think led us all to sort of
like sit back and sort of take
stock of the seriousness of the
situation that the Wagner leader
is now in.
You have lukashenko talking
about the possibility, playing
it down, yes, but talking about
the possibility of him being
killed by Putin.
So clearly the indications are
that there are moves afoot first
of all to discredit the Wagner
leader possibly in the future to
take action against him.
But who knows what.
>> Matthew, stay with us.
Let's bring in former Moscow
bureau chief Jill Dougherty and
also analyst from the "New York
Times" David Sanger.
Jill, let me start with you.
The deal in many respects to
save prigozhin's life was that
he would then goif in exile to
Belarus.
Now that prigozhin is in St.
Petersburg, was there is a deal,
is he going to be prosecuted
after this raid?
What is your read on this news?
>> It is priceless actually.
We knew about a week ago when
Putin said by the way, the
Russian government has given
prigozhin roughly $2 billion and
we hope not too much was taken,
or kind of an indication, we
knew at that point that the
other shoe could definitely
drop.
And that prigozhin could not
necessarily be killed but he
could be prosecuted for
corruption.
And I think that the play is
working out exactly like that.
This deal is essentially Putin's
deal with lukashenko playing
role of trying to help Putin by
creating this deal, it doesn't
work, and maybe it was never
supposed to work.
So if prigozhin now is on state
television or his department is
with money and wigs, et cetera,
just an example of the
government now Putin's
government coming up with the
proof that prigozhin should be
prosecuted.
That prigozhin was too dangerous
for Putin to allow to continue
to exist wherever he was.
>> David, do you think president
lukashenko is telling the truth?
>> Shockingly we have been
misled here.
It was president lukashenko who
in late June said that prigozhin
was in Belarus.
U.S. And Ukrainian intelligence
has said since they don't
believe he ever stepped foot in
Belarus and as we all discussed
on this show a week ago, being
in Belarus wouldn't offer him
any protection from being
assassinated, attacked from
Moscow.
So that is the first thought.
Second is that we actually think
that along the way prigozhin
here has proven himself to be
too valuable in many ways to
kill as lukashenko suggested,
that you don't know how his
troops would react and others.
So instead what you are seeing
is that the Russians are
systemically dismantlings Wagner
group, they have been moving
some of the assets to other
companies friendlier to Putin
himself, some are reportedly
going to the former gymnast who
U.S. Intelligence suggest is the
mother of several of Putin's
children.
But she also runs something
called the national media group.
So you are seeing Wagner being
folded back into government hold
which of course is exactly what
started this to begin with.
>> Matthew, back to you.
Is there any evidence, any
indication even from president
lukashenko that prigozhin was
ever in Belarus, does he even
make that claim?
>> Reporter: Well, beyond the
facts as David said that he said
it a week or so ago that
prigozhin was in the country,
no, there has been no supporting
evidence.
We haven't managed to verify it.
But the fact that he's
backtracked now is quite
astonishing.
But he does make a lot more
sense.
Because one of the most
incredible unbelievable things
about the way this whole
military up rising ended in
Russia a week or so ago, was
that yevgeny prigozhin who
effectively led an uprising
against the Kremlin was just
allowed to walk away into what
would have been a relatively
comfortable exile as we
understood it in Belarus.
That just felt, you know,
unrealistic given what we know
about what happens to people who
cross Putin.
They fall out of windows, they
get poisoned, they get
imprisoned, something negative
happens.
They don't just walk away from
this.
And Putin was absolutely furious
about what happened, about the
uprising, about being betrayed
by Wagner.