Russia: Wagner Group Calls Off March On Moscow, Warlord Prigozhin To Leave Country As Part Of Belarus Brokered Peace Deal

In a rather tame end to the dramatic turn of events that unfolded in Russia over the last 24 hours, Wagner warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin has agreed to leave the country and ordered the troops of his mercenary force to withdraw from Rostov-on-Don and halt their march on Moscow, under the terms of a peace deal brokered by Belarus.

Belarusian president Aleksandr Lukashenko announced on Saturday (June 24) that he had brokered a deal between his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and Prigozhin to avert an armed conflict.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that the criminal case that had been opened against Prigozhin for armed mutiny would be dropped, and the Wagner fighters who had taken part in his "march for justice" would not be charged "because of their deeds on the battlefront".

Wagner fighters who did not participate in the uprising will be invited to sign a formal contract with the Russian defence ministry, Peskov added.

In an audio statement released on Saturday night, Prigozhin confirmed the peace deal. He said his mercenary forces were "turning around our columns and returning to field camps in South Russia according to plan." Prigozhin said that he agreed to cease the escalation as he does not want to "unleash a bloody massacre" in his homeland 

The peace deal came amid media reports claiming rapid advances by Wagner Group forces and vast swathes of southern Russia falling under their control.

Multiple videos went viral on social media showing Wagner mercenary forces in the Voronezh Oblast, a province which borders eastern Ukraine, boasting of the destruction of three Russian military helicopters and one military transport. In another video, Prigozhin is seen and heard sa that hyingis soldiers had reached 125 miles (200 km) from Moscow.

Wagner troops appeared to have seized a few key buildings in Rostov-on-Don, the headquarters of Russia's southern military district command and an important logistics node for Moscow's military operation in Ukraine.

With mercenaries' convoy rapidly heading towards the capital, authorities in Moscow residents urged the residents to stay indoors. City Mayor Sergei Sobyanin even announced that Monday would be a "non-working day" in order to "minimise risks".

In a televised address to the nation, President Putin had vowed to crush the armed resurrection by his former chef turned warlord. Terming it as a treasonous "stab in the back". Putin termed the coup attempt as a "deadly threat to our statehood."

Prigozhin's attempted uprising followed months of internecine infighting between the warlord and the top commanders of Russia's armed forces.

A protege of Putin, Prigozhin's relationship with his mentor has strained in recent times. In May, the Wagner Group removed mercenaries from the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, citing Russian military incompetence and mismanagement.

Accusing the Russian military leadership of starving his forces of ammunition supply, an angry Prigozhin said on Friday, "I am withdrawing the Wagner PMC units from Bakhmut, because in the absence of ammunition they are doomed to senseless death,"

Prigozhin has repeatedly accused Russia's military leaders for the deaths of soldiers from his Wagner mercenary unit. He has specifically targeted the defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, and commander-in-chief, Valery Gerasimov, accusing them of bungling and incompetence over the war in Ukraine.