After leading an armed uprising for a whole day, the businessman finally ordered his men marching toward Moscow to “turn around” and “return to the camps” after mediation by the Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko.
Yevgeny Prigozhin “Will go to Belarus,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced in the evening, vowing that Wagner’s boss had “president Vladimir Putin’s word.” “The criminal case against him will be dropped,” he added, and “no one will pursue the fighters” who followed Yevgeny Prigoyine in his company, “taking into account their merits on the Ukrainian front.” “Some of them, if they wish, will sign contracts with the Defense Ministry,” even Dmitry Peskov affirmed, without giving any further details.
The Kremlin spokesman hailed the role played by Alexander Lukashenko’s mediator in resolving tensions that have rocked Russian power at a rate it has rarely seen in several years. “We are grateful to the Belarusian President for this diplomatic effort,” stressed Dmitry Peskov, referring to a “very long, frankly cordial” discussion between the two leaders, allies against the West in the Russian military intervention in Ukraine.
“This situation was resolved without new casualties, without increasing the tension,” he nevertheless rejoiced, while some feared a confrontation between the Russian security forces and the Wagner fighters who were on their way to Moscow. Dmitry Peskov also recalled that Alexander Lukashenko “has known Prigoyine personally for a long time, more than 20 years” and that it was “his personal initiative” to resolve the situation.
The Kremlin says the Russian offensive in Ukraine will not be affected
Despite this “rather tough day full of tragic events,” Dmitry Peskov stressed that Yevgeny Prigoyine’s attempt to overthrow the military power will “in no way” affect the course of the Russian offensive in Ukraine. “The ‘special military operation’ continues. “Our soldiers managed to repel the counter-offensive from Ukraine,” he even argued to the press, when troops from Kiev tried to break through the Russian defenses.
Ulrich Bounat (analyst): “This mediation by Lukashenko is really a thunderbolt”
(With AFP)