Residents show their support for Yevgeny Prigozhin’s mercenary troops as they leave the southern Russian city overnight.
Overnight, the power struggle between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Yevgeny Prigozhin ended with a deal: the mercenary boss called off his troops’ advance on Moscow. He and Wagner’s mercenaries are not to be prosecuted, and Prigozhin is apparently allowed into exile in Belarus. Both parties emphasized that they wanted to avoid bloodshed with the deal.
Early Sunday morning (local time), Wagner’s troops gave up their positions in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don. To applause from the civilian population, the first vehicles with mercenaries first left the Russian Southern Military Command headquarters – which they had occupied only hours before – before tanks and combat vehicles later left the city center. Reports on social media and photos in news agencies show townspeople thanking Wagner’s leader, Prigozhin. They bid farewell to their troops with shouts of “Wagner”. (red.)