Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner mercenary group, announced that he had ordered his troops to withdraw from the route of the march to Moscow and return to their original bases. This was after a day of talks between him and Belarusian Lukashenko, which was also confirmed by Russian press secretary Dmitry Peskov. Peskov said that Russia had agreed to drop the criminal charges against Prigozhin and would not hold his mercenaries accountable. Prigozhin will move to live in Belarus.
Prigozhin posted a paragraph on his Telegram channel explaining his decision. He said that he did not want to see the blood of Russians shed at the hands of his compatriots, and that he believed that the June 23 operation was for justice, but now that the situation has become critical, he has to make compromises. He also said that his fighters did not kill anyone during the march, they just wanted to express their displeasure.
Prigozhin's troops once marched nearly 200 kilometers in a single day, threatening Moscow's security at one point. They also seized the headquarters of the Southern Military District of Russia, which aroused the support of the local population. But with the mediation of Belarusian ** Lukashenko, they finally abandoned their plans to move on. Lukashenko is an old friend of Prigozhin, who, after consulting with Russian ** Putin, personally met with Prigozhin and reached a peace agreement.
Peskov said that Russia has always respected the heroic performance of Wagner mercenaries on the front line, who fought for the interests of Russia. He said the incident was a tragedy, but fortunately it did not cause greater damage. He said that it is inconvenient to disclose Prigozhin's whereabouts, but he has assurances from Russia that he can safely travel to Belarus. He also said that Wagner soldiers involved in the mutiny will not be punished by law, while Wagner soldiers who did not participate will continue to cooperate with the Russian Ministry of Defense. He said that Russia will not make any further comments on this incident and that the war against Ukraine will go according to the original plan.
At the same time, the situation in Russia is also being watched by the United States and Western allies, who are trying to use the incident to interfere in Russia's internal affairs. U.S. ** Biden spoke with the heads of state of Britain, France and Germany to express support for Ukraine. Ukrainian ** Zelense made a provocative speech to the Russians in Russian, which inflamed tensions. Some military experts in Germany believe that Wagner's defection is beneficial to Ukraine, as it will weaken Russia's authority and stability. But some German experts believe that Prigozhin's concession will instead strengthen Russia's unity against the US-led NATO. Ukraine and the West did not gain much from this incident.