Rabat – Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has ordered his forces to retreat their match on Moscow to “avoid shedding Russian blood,” ending the rebellion he started that posed a challenge to Vladimir Putin’s presidency.
Prigozhin decided to turn his forces back when they were only 200 kilometers (120 miles) away from Moscow, citing the desire to prevent any more killings.
“Understanding responsibility [for the chance] that Russian blood will be spilled on one side, we are turning our columns around and going back to field camps as planned,” he said in an audio message.
He added that the “march of justice” his forces embarked on was taken up because authorities wanted to disband the Wagner military company.
Moscow authorities had already established checkpoints outside the city and stationed troops in anticipation of the Wagner forces’ arrival.
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The uprising, which seemed to develop with very little resistance from Russian forces, raised questions around Putin’s grip on power.
The de-escalation came after Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko negotiated with Prigozhin following a conversation with Putin.
The proposed settlement between the parties would also see the Wagner troops, including Prigozhin, receive security guarantees. The insurrection chief will move to Belarus as part of the deal and will have the criminal case against him closed, the Kremlin announced.
Putin denounced Wagner’s actions as an “armed mutiny” and vowed to punish the mercenaries.
In an interview recorded before the insurrection but aired after the Wagner retreat, Putin vowed to carry on with the Ukraine war, stressing that his days “begin and end” with the war.
“Lately, I stay up quite late” monitoring the situation, he said. “Of course, I always have to be communicating.”
