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CNN: Satellite images show 2 planes linked to Prigozhin at airbase in Belarus

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Two planes linked to private military contractor Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin landed at an airbase in Belarus early on June 27, according to satellite images from BlackSky, CNN reported.

While Prigozhin's whereabouts have not yet been confirmed, Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko claimed that the Wagner boss had arrived in Belarus in the morning of June 27.

CNN's analysis of the planes' measurements and additional satellite imagery from BlackSky showed that the planes arrived within the last 24 hours and matched the dimensions of Prigozhin-linked aircraft, CNN wrote.

A senior European intelligence official and a source familiar with Prigozhin's planes also told CNN that the planes that landed in Minsk today are linked to Prigozhin but they could not confirm if he was on board.

Since the Wagner Group's armed rebellion reached its conclusion with an alleged deal brokered by Lukashenko and a decision that Prigozhin would relocate to Belarus, Prigozhin's movements have been closely followed.

IStories, an independent Russian investigative journalism project, reported on June 26, citing flight tracker data, that Prigozhin flew from Rostov, a regional capital in Russia that Wagner managed to briefly occupy during its insurrection, to St. Petersburg on June 25.

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Liliane Bivings

Business Editor

Liliane is the business editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked at the Kyiv Post as a staff writer covering business news and then as business editor. Liliane holds a master’s degree in Russian, Eastern European, and Eurasian affairs with a focus on Ukrainian studies at Columbia University. From 2017-2020 she served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine, after which she interned with the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center. Liliane is the author of the Ukraine Business Roundup newsletter, which is sent out every Tuesday.

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