NATO Chief Issues Warning After Russian Rebellion

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the alliance he leads has strengthened its eastern flank after Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin reportedly relocated to Belarus.

Stoltenberg was reacting to the deal struck with Moscow to call off Prigozhin's mercenaries' march on the Russian capital after seizing military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don, a direct challenge to Vladimir Putin's authority.

The Wagner Group has been key to Russia's effort in its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in particular the Donetsk city of Bakhmut. Prigozhin agreed to be exiled to Belarus, sparking concerns over whether his fighters would follow him and what impact this might have on Wagner, the war in Ukraine and stability in the region.

During a meeting in The Hague of eight NATO leaders, Stoltenberg said it was "too early" to judge Prigozhin's move but that "we have sent a clear message" to Russia and Belarus that the alliance would "protect every ally and every inch of NATO territory."

It is unclear what threat Prigozhin and his fighters might pose in Belarus whose leader Alexander Lukashenko reportedly brokered an end to the mutiny.

"While some observers believe that the Wagner troops that moved to Belarus might be used to lead another attack against Kyiv, it appears far-fetched at this moment," Vuk Vuksanovic, associate at the London School of Economics thinktank LSE IDEAS, told Newsweek.

"Until that happens, it is safer to presume that this was Prigozhin trying to save his skin as the Kremlin started to perceive him as uncontrollable. Wagner turned out to be effective during fights for Bakhmut."

During Monday's press conference, Stoltenberg also said "we must not underestimate Russia", in a line reported by the Tass news agency, which did not report his preceding comment that this was because Putin's "illegal war against Ukraine has deepened divisions and created new tensions in Russia."

Stoltenberg also said that further decisions on strengthening the alliance would be made at its upcoming summit in Vilnius, Lithuania starting on July 11, when also on the agenda will be the first detailed plans since the Cold War on how to prepare for the first direct confrontation between NATO and Moscow.

The alliance's former deputy secretary general Rose Gottemoeller recently told Newsweek that "Putin's aggression against Ukraine has renewed the worry about such a threat against NATO" and that the plans sent "a very strong signal that NATO is taking it seriously."

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly described Prigozhin's mutiny as an "unprecedented challenge to President Putin's authority" amid international concerns at what might happen should Russia collapse.

His predecessor and former prime minister, Liz Truss, told Britain's House of Commons there should be "contingency arrangements" for such an occurrence.

Newsweek has contacted the Russian foreign ministry for comment.