Mercenary chief Prigozhin starts exile in Belarus, Putin praises Russian troops

Russian President Vladimir Putin gives a televised address in Moscow, Russia, June 26, 2023. Sputnik/Gavriil Grigorov/Kremlin via REUTERS

(Reuters) - Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin flew into exile in Belarus on Tuesday under a deal that ended a brief mutiny by his fighters, as President Vladimir Putin praised his armed forces for averting a civil war.

A plane linked to Prigozhin was shown on a flight tracking service taking off from the southern Russian city of Rostov early on Tuesday and landing in Belarus.