Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin has confirmed that he ordered his mercenaries to halt their march on Moscow and retreat to their bases in Ukraine to avoid shedding Russian blood.
“We are returning our columns and heading in the opposite direction to the encampments according to plan,” an audio message said on his Telegram feed.
Prigozhin’s announcement seemed to defuse a growing crisis. Moscow had been preparing for the arrival of the private army led by the rebel commander, and President Vladimir Putin had vowed he would face harsh consequences.
Prigozhin said that while his men were only 200 kilometers (120 miles) from Moscow, he decided to turn them back to prevent “Russian blood from being spilled.”
He did not say whether the Kremlin has responded to his calls to overthrow Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. There was no immediate comment from the Kremlin.
The deal could lead to the replacement of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of Staff General Valery Gerasimov, a key Prigozhin demand.
Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin has confirmed that he ordered his mercenaries to halt their march on Moscow to avoid shedding Russian blood
A Russian policeman guards Red Square near the Kremlin as forces prepare to attack before Prigozhin’s forces spectacularly retreat
A Russian soldier occupies a machine gun post in southern Moscow before the expected arrival of Prigozhin and the Wagner troops. But Prigozhin has confirmed that he ordered his mercenaries to stop their march
Belarusian President and key Putin ally Alexander Lukashenko (pictured) said Yevgeny Prigozhin accepted his proposal to halt the Wagner Group’s advance towards Moscow
The shocking announcement follows a statement from the office of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, which said it had brokered a deal with Prigozhin after previously discussing the issue with Putin.
Prigozhin has accepted Lukashenko’s offer to halt the Wagner group’s advance and take further steps to de-escalate tensions, Lukashenko’s office said, adding that the proposed settlement included security guarantees for the Wagner troops. It was not elaborated upon.
The surprising development comes after a day of utter chaos in Moscow as the city prepared for war by sealing hatches while soldiers set up outposts and military vehicles flooded the streets.
According to reports, a total of 5,000 Wagner forces were advancing towards the capital before the U-turn and were due to advance as far as Lipetsk tonight.
Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin is said to have a total of 25,000 men at his disposal, another 5,000 of whom were in Rostov-on-Don, the southern key city for Russia’s war in Ukraine, which Prigozhin claims to have brought under his control.
The convoy, which was slowly moving towards Moscow, is said to have been led by Supreme Commander Wagner and neo-Nazi Dmitri Utkin. According to one source, Wagner’s plan for Moscow was to set up positions in a densely built-up area.
A series of restrictions were put in place around the Russian capital by decree of the governor, ordering people to refrain from traveling through Moscow.
This comes after Prigozhin initiated an overnight military coup against Kremlin leaders, in which the group took key cities and threatened the president, who labeled them “traitors.”
Earlier, Putin addressed the Russian people and warned that Prigozhin had “stabbed him in the back” as Moscow goes into lockdown and troops dig in to prepare to defend the city.
A spokesman for the Russian President said Putin is still at work in the Kremlin and has not fled Moscow given the earlier threat. However, two presidential jets were seen flying from Moscow towards St. Petersburg. It is said to have turned off its transponder to prevent tracking the route.
Armored vehicles are considered security measures in Moscow
Machine gun outposts are being hastily erected on the outskirts of Moscow
Prigozhin’s shocking announcement comes after his feared 25,000-strong Wagner militia took control of the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don on Saturday, saying they were “ready to die” for their “Justice March” and were up heading north in a convoy of hundreds of armored vehicles.
The unit had previously crossed half the city of Voronezh and on its way to Moscow soon approached Lipetsk, where it encountered hardly any resistance worth mentioning.
A message published on the Wagner Telegram channel on Saturday said: “Putin made the wrong choice.” All the worse for him. “Soon we will have a new president.”
Footage posted on social media showed large convoys of troops heading north from Voronezh, believed to be Wagner mercenaries. They are also said to be heading to other important cities such as Krasnodar and Volgograd.
Russia responded by tightening security in Moscow, mobilizing troops to defend against the invasion, and calling for the military to rally around President Putin.
All public events have been canceled and Monday has already been declared a non-working day as Putin called Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s close ally to update him on the situation.
Moscow’s mayor has urged people not to take trips around the city, saying the situation is “difficult” and “city services are on high alert”.
Sergey Sobyanin also urged residents not to go to work on Monday to “minimise risks”. This came as part of the announcement of an “anti-terrorist operation” in the city.
A line of armored vehicles can be seen as Russian forces prepare to defend the capital
A traffic cop checks a car next to an armored personnel carrier (APC)
Russian troops were seen setting up positions at a bridge over the Oka River
Meanwhile, pro-Putin forces could be seen fighting on the outskirts of the city against the Wagner putschist army en route to the capital.
The photo shows Russian troops setting up their positions at a bridge over the Oka River. They used barrage equipment, machine guns and grenade launchers while military helicopters flew over the city.
Other photos showed soldiers setting up barricades and machine gun nests just outside the city while Putin signed legislation allowing people to be detained for up to 30 days in areas where a marshal is deployed – not that this would have happened so far.
Russian officials have also ordered roads in the convoy’s path blocked by large, heavy trucks to slow it down.
Travel has also been restricted to regions closest to Moscow, most recently in the Kalugia region. Traffic on the region’s roads will be restricted near the adjacent regions of Tula, Bryansk, Orel and Smolensk
Eyewitnesses also reported air raids on the Wagner convoy heading north.
Shortly after this became known, Prigozhin claimed that it was hit by Russian attacks and shelling from helicopters.
“We were shelled: first with artillery strikes and then with helicopters,” Prigozhin said in a Telegram post. Online video footage is said to show an artillery attack on an armored vehicle in the Wagner move.
Prigozhin was once known as “Putin’s cook” – now the Wagner boss seems to be waging war against the Kremlin
Footage showed an apparent Russian missile hitting a civilian bus today as Wagner troops slowly made their way up the M-4 highway. Prigozhin claimed the apparent shelling showed the ferocity of Putin’s wartime commanders.
Pictures show Wagner forces in the Lipetsk region – less than four hours to the outskirts of Moscow.
The column of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s coup forces is heading north for a showdown with troops still loyal to dictator Vladimir Putin despite rumors that he has fled the capital.
Wagner forces were about 200 miles from Moscow and faced an evening or night showdown with regular Russian forces.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has spoken to Western allies about the Wagner mercenary group’s armed insurgency in Russia, which British defense officials have described as “the biggest challenge” facing the Kremlin in recent memory.
Mr Sunak spoke with US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday afternoon “to discuss the situation in Russia and reiterate their continued support for Ukrainian sovereignty,” Downing Street said.