Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin dramatically halted his advance towards Moscow and ordered his fighters to return to their bases, saying he wished to keep away from bloodshed.
“In 24 hours we received to inside 200 km of Moscow,” Prigozhin mentioned late Saturday in an audio message on Telegram. “Now could be the second when blood might be shed. Subsequently, taking full duty for the truth that Russian blood might be spilled, we’re turning our columns round and returning to our discipline camps.”
He didn’t point out how far again they’d withdraw or present different particulars. “They wished to disband PMC Wagner,” he mentioned within the message, with out elaborating.
His assertion got here shortly after Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko mentioned that he had negotiated with Prigozhin on the request of Russian chief Vladimir Putin and agreed that the advance would cease.
Prigozhin’s announcement capped a day of escalating drama that represented essentially the most severe menace in many years to Putin’s authority, after he accused the mercenary group of “treason” in a TV broadcast to the nation Saturday. Convoys of mercenaries loyal to the Wagner chief had traveled towards the capital throughout an rebel that was with out precedent in Putin’s almost quarter-century rule in Russia.
It jolted a rustic making an attempt to maintain a conflict in Ukraine that’s the largest battle in Europe since World Conflict II and unfolded in opposition to the backdrop of a Ukrainian counteroffensive throughout among the space the place Wagner’s troops deployed for months within the conflict’s longest and bloodiest battle.
After vowing to guide “a march of justice” on Moscow, Prigozhin posted a video of himself early Saturday at what he mentioned had been army places of work below Wagner’s management within the southern Russian metropolis of Rostov-on-Don, one of many most important operational facilities for Russian forces deployed in Ukraine. The declare couldn’t be independently confirmed.
His forces later superior alongside the route of the primary M4 freeway linking Moscow to Rostov. Movies appeared on social media displaying army helicopters flying over town of Voronezh the place a gasoline storage depot was rocked by an explosion. Regional Governor Alexander Gusev mentioned the depot was on fireplace, with out giving a proof.
Wagner’s forces had been then seen transferring by the Lipetsk area about 350 kilometers (218 miles) from Moscow, Governor Igor Artamonov mentioned on Telegram, urging residents to remain of their houses. The governor of close by Kaluga introduced journey restrictions into the area that’s about 160 kilometers (100 miles) from the capital.
Putin didn’t identify Prigozhin throughout his five-minute broadcast through which he mentioned “extreme ambitions and private pursuits led to treason” in opposition to the state and “the trigger for which Wagner fighters and commanders fought and died.” He drew a comparability with divisions in Russia throughout World Conflict I that led to the 1917 Bolshevik revolution and civil conflict.
US President Joe Biden earlier Saturday held talks on the unfolding scenario in Russia with French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. The leaders additionally affirmed their “unwavering assist” for Ukraine, in line with a White Home assertion.
With the Wagner fighters approaching, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin had declared Monday a non-working day for all however important providers and suggested residents to keep away from touring across the metropolis, saying roads could also be blocked off within the “sophisticated” scenario.
Officers earlier introduced a “counter-terrorist regime” in Moscow and its surrounding area in addition to in Voronezh area. Pictures appeared on social media of roadblocks on approaches to the capital.
