Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin says he ordered his mercenaries to halt their march on Moscow to avoid “shedding Russian blood”.
Prigozhin said while his men are just 200km (120 miles) from Moscow, he decided on Saturday to turn them back to prevent killings.
“They wanted to disband the Wagner military company. We embarked on a march of justice on June 23. Now, the moment has come when blood could be spilled,” Prigozhin in an audio message.
“Understanding responsibility [for the chance] that Russian blood will be spilled on one side, we are turning our columns around and going back to field camps as planned.”
Moscow braced for the arrival of the private army led by the rebellious mercenary commander by erecting checkpoints with armoured vehicles and troops on its southern edge. Red Square was shut down, and the mayor urged motorists to stay off some roads.
‘What’s really going to happen’
Prigozhin’s comments came after Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said he negotiated with the mercenary boss to stop Wagner’s troop movement after discussing the issue with Putin.
He accepted Lukashenko’s offer to halt the Wagner group’s advance and further steps to de-escalate the tensions, Lukashenko’s office said, adding the proposed settlement contains security guarantees for Wagner troops. It did not elaborate.
Prigozhin did not say whether the Kremlin responded to his demand to remove Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu. There was no immediate comment from the Kremlin.
President Vladimir Putin faced the biggest threat to his rule yet with rebel mercenaries advancing towards the Russian capital after seizing a key military base.
Pavel Felgenhauer, a Russian defence analyst, said it remained to be seen how the incident plays out.
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‘Suffer inevitable punishment’
In a televised speech to the nation, Putin called the rebellion a “betrayal” and “treason”.
“All those who prepared the rebellion will suffer inevitable punishment,” Putin said. “The armed forces and other government agencies have received the necessary orders.”
Authorities declared a “counterterrorist regime” in the capital and its surrounding region, enhancing security and restricting some movement. On the southern outskirts, troops erected checkpoints, arranged sandbags and set up machine guns.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday the revolt by Wagner troops exposed complete chaos in the country.
“Today, the world can see that the masters of Russia control nothing. And that means nothing. Simply complete chaos. An absence of any predictability,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address.
Addressing Putin while switching from Ukrainian into Russian language, Zelenskyy said, “The longer your troops remain on Ukrainian land, the greater the devastation they will bring to Russia.”
