Wagner uprising: Prigozhin finally orders to leave after agreement with the Kremlin

But what could happen? Having said – and repeated – his determination to join Moscow, with a desire to “stop” the military command, Yevgeny Prigozhin finally on Saturday ordered his troops to turn around and join the Wagner camps to prevent “Russian blood”. flow. The Kremlin said that the head of Wagner will go to Belarus, whose president Alexander Lukashenko agreed on such a withdrawal of troops, and no mercenaries will be prosecuted.

Wagner’s troops moved closer on Saturday to less than 400 kilometers from the capital after, among other things, announcing the capture of the Russian army headquarters in Rostov, the nerve center of operations in Ukraine. In his speech this Saturday, Vladimir Putin denounced “treason” and warned against “civil war.”

The offensive in Russia of Wagner’s troops forced the authorities to take exceptional security measures. The mayor of Moscow called on residents to limit movement around the city, calling the situation “difficult” and declaring Monday a non-working day. The Kaluga region of Russia, whose administrative center is 180 km south of Moscow, has imposed travel restrictions in connection with the uprising.

Removal of charges against Wagner and Prigozhin

It remains to be seen what will happen now. The fighters of the Wagner group, who had occupied the Russian military headquarters in Rostov since the morning, began to leave the premises in the evening. The Kremlin, for its part, accepted the agreement with Wagner “in order to avoid a bloodbath”, not knowing the exact contours and conditions.

The Russian authorities, however, made it clear that they would not prosecute the Wagnerites, “given their merits at the front” in Ukraine. The investigation launched on Friday evening against Yevgeny Prigozhin “will be terminated,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said, specifying that the head of Wagner will travel to Belarus.

The situation in Russia overshadowed the situation in Ukraine for several hours, where the Russian army and Wagner units have so far fought together against Ukrainian troops. Thus, the Ukrainian army said it was “watching” the clash between Prigozhin and Putin, and Moscow warned that the army in Kiev was seizing the moment to concentrate its troops “for offensive operations.” The Kremlin is assuring this Saturday that Wagner’s failed coup will “in no way” affect Russia’s offensive in Ukraine.