Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said today that he had warned Yevgeny Prigozhin and Dmitry Utkin to beware of threats to their lives, stressing that Wagner mercenary fighters would remain in Belarus, while noting that he “cannot imagine” that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the assassination of Prigozhin.

The head of Wagner, Prigozhin, and his right-hand man in the organization, Utkin, were among the passengers of the private jet that crashed yesterday, Wednesday, in the Tver region, north of Moscow, killing all on board.

Putin had vowed to crush the Prigozhin rebellion in June, but hours later a deal was struck to allow the group’s leader and some of its fighters to settle in Belarus.

Lukashenko, who helped negotiate the deal, recounted shortly after the mutiny using prison slang how he persuaded Putin not to “kill” Prigozhin.

The latter, the Belarusian president said today, ignored Lukashenko’s concerns about possible threats against his life.

During the mutiny from the evening of June 23 to the afternoon of June 24, Lukashenko told Prigozhin that he would be “killed” if he continued with his organization on the march to Moscow, with Wagner’s leader replying: “Let it is, I will be killed.”

Then, according to Lukashenko’s account, when Prigozhin and Utkin went to meet him, he warned them both: “Boys, mind.”

It was not exactly clear from Lukashenko’s statements, which were carried by state news agency BELTA, when the last conversation took place.

The Belarusian leader, an old acquaintance of Prigozhin and a close ally of Russia, stressed that Putin had nothing to do with the plane crash, in which, according to existing indications, Prigozhin, Utkin and other top Wagner executives were killed.

“I know Putin: he is methodical, very calm, works even late,” he said. “I can’t imagine that Putin did it, that Putin is to blame. It’s just too wild and amateurish.”

Reacting to insinuations made in the West about the plane crash, the Kremlin today denied that it had ordered the killing of Prigozhin, but refused to definitively confirm his death, citing the need to await test results and an investigation.

Regarding the Wagner mercenaries, Lukashenko stated today that they will remain in Belarus.

“Wagner survived, Wagner lives and Wagner will continue to live in Belarus,” he stressed. “The core (of Wagner) remains here (…) In a few days they will all be here, up to 10,000 people.”

“As long as we need this unit, they will live and work with us,” he concluded.