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‘These are unprepared people, like in ’41’ Audio recording of alleged call between Prigozhin and Lukashenko includes criticism of Russian security forces and talk of cash

Source: Meduza

An audio recording of an alleged phone call between Wagner Group mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko appeared online this Wednesday, November 20, released by the Telegram channel “Moscow Laundry,” which journalists believe has ties to Russia’s intelligence community. Meduza reviews what the audio tapes possibly reveal about the secret negotiations that ended an insurrection that shocked the world.

A reminder to readers: Meduza cannot verify that the voices in the conversation described below belong to Alexander Lukashenko and the late Yevgeny Prigozhin. At the same time, the recording is now circulating on the Russian Internet and shaping perceptions about this important moment in recent history.

The recorded conversation purportedly occurred during Prigozhin’s shortlived mutiny in late June 2023. Officially, Lukashenko claims that the Kremlin asked for his help to talk down Prigozhin, but the man with the Belarusian president’s voice in the new audio tape appears to be the one who initiated the outreach without Moscow’s request. “Lukashenko” also speaks unflatteringly about Vladimir Putin and describes the Russian security forces as “unprepared, like in [19]41.”

In the call, “Lukashenko” said the Belarusian state media deliberately reported the false story that his administration was working with Moscow to resolve Prigozhin’s mutiny peacefully. “I’m kinda provoking the Russian side, you see. Maybe they have other options, like wiping out Prigozhin,” said the voice resembling Lukashenko’s. “No, wiping out Prigozhin would get so many people killed; it would be crazy,” said the other voice on the line.

In a second audio recording released by Moscow Laundry on November 21, a man who sounds like Prigozhin indicates that he won’t end his mutiny unless he gets a guarantee from Russian Federal Security Service head Alexander Bortnikov that the agency will drop its criminal case against him. The two voices also discuss the logistics of Wagner Group retreating to Belarus and the need for financial assurances once based there.

Moscow Laundry’s motive for leaking the audio recordings appears to be to undermine Lukashenko in the Kremlin’s eyes. “Even in this challenging moment for Russia, Lukashenko was pursuing his own self-serving interests,” the Telegram channel wrote, arguing that he’s eager for reelection in January to “secure his status of a legitimate president and participate in negotiations [in Ukraine].” “Moscow has plenty to think about — and most importantly, there’s still time,” the channel concluded.

Yevgeny Prigozhin’s June 2023 mutiny resulted in the deaths of at least a dozen Russian soldiers and the destruction of six military helicopters and one warplane. The mercenary uprising shocked the world, though Prigozhin’s convoy of fighters turned back from Moscow before a showdown with the capital’s defenses. Two months later, Prigozhin and several others in his entourage died when their private jet mysteriously crashed in Russia’s Tver region.