"They will crush you halfway like a flea." These are the words Belarusian President Lukashenko said last Saturday during negotiations with Wagner's founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, to persuade him to halt his advance toward Moscow.
Lukashenko himself revealed this during a military ceremony, according to the official Belta news agency.
"I told him: 'Yevegny, no one will hand over either Shoigu or Gerasimov to you. Especially in this situation. You know Putin as well as I do,'" the Belarusian leader said, referring to Wagner's boss' request for dismissed the Russian Minister of Defense and Chief of Staff.
Still talking about this, Lukashenko told Prigozhin: "Secondly, he (Putin) will not meet you. He will not even talk to you on the phone because of this situation."
According to the Belarusian leader, the founder of Wagner was silent for a while and then added: “But we want justice! They want to drown us! We will advance in Moscow!".
At that moment, the Belarusian head of state, present at the conversation, warned Prigozhin: "You will be crushed halfway like a flea." Although the army units are engaged in the relevant front, I told him to think about it". "No," he answered. "He was euphoric," the Belarusian added.
Then Lukashenko revealed: "I told Putin: he can be killed, it's not a problem." Either on the first attempt or on the second. But I advised him not to kill Prigozhin", said the Belarusian president.
Meanwhile, the head of the US Senate intelligence committee, Mark Warner, told NBC, stressing that he had received information that Wagner's head was actually in the Belarusian capital.
"I imagine - although it is only a rumor - that Prigozhin is in one of the few hotels in Minsk that does not have windows, perhaps to protect him from assassination attempts."