Belarusian chief Alexander Lukashenko has stated Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin is in Russia - and Vladimir Putin won't "wipe" him out.

Mr Lukashenko stated Prigozhin could also be in St Petersburg or Moscow, and insisted he's "absolutely free", including his Wagner troops stay on the camps the place they'd stayed earlier than the group's aborted coup try final month.

"As for Yevgeny Prigozhin, he is in St Petersburg where he is this morning, maybe he went to Moscow, maybe somewhere else but he's not in the territory of Belarus", Mr Lukashenko advised reporters on Thursday.

Ukraine struggle newest:Prigozhin not in Belarus, says Lukashenko

The 62-year-old has not been seen in public since he was pushed out of the Russian metropolis of Rostov after he ordered his males to face down and hypothesis has continued over his future and that of his mercenary group.

Last week, Mr Lukashenko confirmed the exiled chief was in his nation following a Belarus-brokered deal between the Kremlin and Prigozhin which introduced an finish to the mercenary chief's armed mutiny on 24 June.

Mr Lukashenko, a detailed ally of Mr Putin, didn't specify the placement of the camps however Prigozhin's mercenaries fought alongside Russian forces in Ukraine earlier than their revolt.

His feedback comply with Russian media studies claiming Prigozhin was noticed in St Petersburg.

Sky's safety and defence editor Deborah Haynes says if the studies are true, they communicate of "unresolved issues".

She stated: "If he is actually on his way to Moscow that doesn't speak of defiance, it speaks more of unresolved issues surrounding the whole extraordinary affair, which only two and a half weeks ago saw the Russian president facing the gravest threat to his authority during more than 20 years in power."

Read extra:Wigs and guns found in raid of Prigozhin's palaceWhat happens to him and his private army next

Asked if Prigozhin and his mercenaries have been going to maneuver to Belarus, Mr Lukashenko answered evasively that it might rely on the choices taken by the Wagner chief and the Russian authorities.

The president has stated beforehand that he doesn't suppose Wagner's presence in Belarus might result in the destabilisation of his nation.

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It comes as Prigozhin's St Petersburg palace was raided by Russian security services.

The FSB says it discovered gold bars, a stuffed alligator and a cabinet stuffed with wigs on the residence because the pro-Kremlin newspaper Izvestia printed photos and video of the raid yesterday.

While the precise phrases of the Belarus-brokered deal are unclear, it's believed that Prigozhin agreed to relocate to Belarus.

The Russian president described Wagner's transient revolt as "treason" and "a stab in the back".

However, after it was referred to as off, the Kremlin stated all legal fees towards Prigozhin could be dropped and Wagner fighters wouldn't be prosecuted.

The group has been liable for a few of Moscow's successes within the struggle in Ukraine and helped seize town of Bakhmut after months of bloody preventing.