The Belarus President’s Office has said that Wagner mercenary group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin has agreed to stop the group’s lightning-fast advance toward Moscow and to deescalate the situation, with Prigozhin confirming the news in a social media post.
Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus and an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has reportedly held talks with Prigozhin, according to Lukashenko’s press service.
The Belarussian president’s office added that Lukashenko’s talks with Prigozhin had Putin’s blessing and that there’s a draft agreement on the table that would provide security guarantees for Wagner fighters.
Russian state media TASS reported that a tentative deal has been reached that would halt Wagner’s advance toward Moscow, which sparked a pledge from Putin to crush any insurrection.
Prigozhin confirmed in a statement on his Telegram channel that he has ordered his mercenaries to halt their march on Moscow and retreat to their field camps in Ukraine in order to avoid shedding Russian blood.
More Details
Earlier on Saturday, mutinous mercenaries from the Wagner Group moved closer to Moscow after seizing a southern city overnight, with Russia’s military firing on them from the air and setting up roadblocks but appearing to do little to blunt their rapid advance.The rebel fighters are members of the Wagner private army run by Prigozhin, a former close ally of Putin, who in an address from the Kremlin vowed to crush the armed mutiny that he compared to Russia’s Civil War a century ago.
Years ago, Prigozhin was tasked by Putin with establishing the Wagner Group as a private army without formal ties to the government to give the Kremlin plausible deniability when using its resources on sensitive missions abroad.
While the exact details of the Wagner Group’s accomplishments are often murky due to the secretive nature of their operations, they have been known to take part in conflicts and provide military support in countries such as Syria and, most recently, Ukraine.
But faced with setbacks in Ukraine, including Wagner taking significant casualties in the fierce battles over Bakhmut, Prigozhin seemed to have turned on his former taskmaster.
He said on his Telegram channel that his units were on a “march for justice” to remove corrupt and incompetent commanders he blames for botching the war in Ukraine.
After capturing the city of Rostov overnight, the Wagner mutineers set off on a 680-mile run toward Moscow.
Wagner’s actions represent the first serious challenge to Putin’s grip on power during his 23-year rule.
Rapid Advance
Troop carriers controlled by Wagner and a flatbed truck transporting a tank were observed by Reuters reporters as they raced past Voronezh, already more than halfway to Moscow.A helicopter apparently belonging to the Russian military engaged in an attack on the vehicles, although there were no reports of significant resistance encountered by the rebels along the highway.
There had been unconfirmed reports that Russian air forces had bombed some bridges en route to Moscow to stymie Wagner’s march on the capital.
Other unconfirmed reports suggested Wagner troops had already reached the Moscow Oblast and had been spotted near Barabanovo, which is south of the Oka River that is said to be the main defensive line manned by Russian troops to prevent Moscow from falling.
Russian media displayed images of small police groups stationed at machine gun positions on the southern outskirts of Moscow. Authorities in the Lipetsk region, situated south of the capital, advised residents to remain indoors.
In Voronezh, over 100 firefighters were actively battling a blazing fuel depot. Reuters obtained video footage revealing a dramatic explosion engulfing the depot in a massive fireball, shortly after a helicopter had passed by.
“The Russian air force was given an order to fire on our column between civilian cars and trucks,” Prigozhin said, according to a translation of his remarks. He added that some pilots apparently refused to follow orders from higher command to fire on the Wagnerites, for which he expressed his gratitude.
Community-based geolocating platform GeoConfirmed, which has been tracking the Wagner Group’s movements, reported that its forces have broken up into three major columns.
The first was securing gains in Rostov, the second appeared headed for an airfield, while the third was moving toward Moscow and had been reported seen around Voronezh.
‘Path of Betrayal’
In a televised address from the Kremlin, Putin said Russia’s very existence was under threat.“We are fighting for the lives and security of our people, for our sovereignty and independence, for the right to remain Russia, a state with a thousand-year history,” he said.
“All those who deliberately stepped on the path of betrayal, who prepared an armed insurrection, who took the path of blackmail and terrorist methods, will suffer inevitable punishment, will answer both to the law and to our people.”
A defiant Prigozhin swiftly replied that he and his men had no intention of turning themselves in.
“The president makes a deep mistake when he talks about treason. We are patriots of our motherland, we fought and are fighting for it,” Prigozhin said in an audio message. “We don’t want the country to continue to live in corruption, deceit, and bureaucracy.”
‘Golden Opportunity’
In Rostov, which serves as the primary logistical hub for Russia’s invading forces, local residents observed the scene calmly, recording videos on their mobile phones as Wagner fighters, accompanied by armored vehicles and battle tanks, positioned themselves.One tank was wedged between stucco buildings with posters advertising the circus. Another had “Siberia” daubed in red paint across the front, in what appeared to be a statement of intent to sweep across the breadth of Russia.
Elsewhere in Moscow, there was an increased security presence on the streets, with the iconic Red Square blocked off by metal barriers.
In a series of messages posted on his Telegram channel overnight, Prigozhin demanded that Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and the chief of the general staff Valery Gerasimov should come to see him in Rostov for talks.
Wagner’s apparent insurrection risks leaving Russia’s invasion force in Ukraine in disarray, just as Kyiv is launching its strongest counteroffensive since the start of the war.
Geopolitical expert Peter Zeihan said that, while reports coming out of the region should be viewed with some skepticism due to “fog of war” misinformation being put out to wrongfoot opponents, the rebellion is a “golden opportunity” for Ukraine.
“So this is a beyond a golden opportunity for the Ukrainians to give the Russians a serious drubbing. The question is, how long will it last?” he added.
While there have been many claims circulating online and made by media outlets, there are currently no signs of any large-scale fighting between Wagner forces and the Russian military.
Prigozhin said on his Telegram channel that the Wagnerites were determined to press ahead toward Moscow and force a reckoning.
“There are 25,000 of us and we are going to figure out why chaos is happening in the country,” he said, vowing to destroy any checkpoints or air forces that got in Wagner’s way.
He later claimed his men had been involved in clashes with regular soldiers and had shot down a helicopter.
Western capitals have been closely following the situation, with Britain’s defense ministry calling the apparent coup “the most significant challenge to the Russian state in recent times.”
“Over the coming hours, the loyalty of Russia’s security forces, and especially the Russian National Guard, will be key to how this crisis plays out,” it added.
It remains unclear whether Wagner’s advance on Moscow has been abandoned and what Putin will do, given his remarks that Prigozhin’s push toward the capital amounted to treason.
