Jet linked to mercenary Prigozhin flies to Belarus from Russia

A Russian-registered Embraer Legacy 600 jet, which is linked to Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin in US sanctions documents, flew to Belarus from Russia on Tuesday, a flight tracker said.

Under a deal mediated by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko on Saturday that abruptly halted a mutiny by Wagner Group fighters, Prigozhin - founder of the mercenary force - is meant to move to Belarus, reports Reuters.

Flightradar24 showed the business jet flew to Belarus early on Tuesday. The Embraer Legacy 600 left Rostov region at 0232 GMT and began a descent at 0420 GMT near Minsk. It was not clear if it had actually landed.

The identification codes of the aircraft match those of a jet linked by the United States to Autolex Transport which is linked to Prigozhin by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control.

Flighradar24 did not show where the flight originated but showed the jet flying over Russia's southern Rostov region.

Prigozhin said during Saturday's mutiny that his men had taken control of the city of Rostov, the main rear logistical hub for Russia's military operations in nearby Ukraine.

Prigozhin, 62, was last seen leaving the district military headquarters in Rostov. Since then his whereabout have been unknown.

/MHK/