Warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin to leave Russia as part of deal to end insurrection

Russian warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin has agreed to leave Russia for Belarus as part of a deal to end his armed rebellion, with expenses in opposition to him to be dropped, the Kremlin stated.

Dmitry Peskov, President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, stated that fighters from Prigozhin’s militia wouldn’t be charged “because of their deeds on the front”. He added that some Wagner fighters who “came to their senses” and had not taken part within the rebellion would signal contracts with the Russian defence ministry.

Prigozhin introduced on Saturday night that Wagner mercenaries had deserted their tried insurrection simply hours earlier than a possible assault on Moscow. It was the primary coup try in Russia for 3 many years.

In a deal brokered by Belarus chief Alexander Lukashenko, Prigozhin stated his convoy of troops, weapons and tanks would cease their journey in direction of Moscow and return to their bases after 24 hours of disaster wherein the Kremlin scrambled to flip the capital right into a fortress to struggle off the rebels.

“Right now the moment has come when blood could be spilled. Therefore, understanding all the responsibility for the fact that Russian blood will be spilled on one side, we are turning our convoy around and going back to our basecamps, according to the plan,” Prigozhin stated in a voice memo posted to social media.

He didn’t specify what the “plan” was.

Putin had requested Lukashenko to mediate within the hope of avoiding any additional bloodshed as a result of the Belarusian chief has identified Prigozhin for 20 years, Peskov stated.

Peskov described Saturday’s rebellion — wherein Wagner shot down a number of military helicopters, captured a serious military command put up and marched most of the way in which from the Ukrainian border to Moscow — as “fairly difficult” and “full of tragic events”. But he stated “there were higher goals of escaping bloodshed and internal confrontation”.

Putin won’t make any additional feedback on the incident, Peskov stated, including that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would proceed.

Wagner paramilitaries loyal to Prigozhin started to leave Rostov on Saturday night, in accordance to state newswire Tass. Video posted on-line by state media and Wagner-affiliated social media channels confirmed the fighters thanking locals, who cheered, clapped and chanted in assist.

The governor of a Russian province on the route of Prigozhin’s rebellion stated officers would start to roll again safety restrictions.

Igor Artamonov, the governor of Lipetsk, stated the area would “start to cancel the restrictions introduced today” and reopen federal highways that had been closed. He stated that they had already begun rebuilding roads broken within the advance.

“We all stood up to defend the interests of our country with honour and dignity. Lipetsk region will not let the president and Russia down,” Artamonov posted on social media.

Putin had earlier vowed to crush the insurrection and accused Wagner of “treason” that posed “a deadly threat to our statehood” comparable to the 1917 revolution that led to the collapse of imperial Russia.

Prigozhin’s tried mutiny adopted months of more and more bitter infighting between the warlord and the leaders of Russia’s armed forces, exacerbated by 16 months of conflict in opposition to Ukraine.

The battle has failed to obtain its goals, hamstrung the nation’s economic system, price tens of hundreds of lives and created a harmful patchwork of competing militias and safety forces.

Prigozhin had beforehand stated his Wagner forces now not wished to stay “under corruption, lies and bureaucracy”.

Lukashenko’s press service stated on Saturday that the settlement got here after the Belarusian chief spent “the entire day” negotiating with Prigozhin after “agreeing on joint actions” with Putin and “additionally clarifying the situation through his own channels”.

It stated Prigozhin had accepted [Lukashenko’s] request to “stop the movement of armed men from the Wagner company on Russian territory and [take] further steps to de-escalate the situation”.

“At the moment, there is an absolutely advantageous and acceptable way to defuse the situation on the table, with security guarantees for Wagner’s fighters,” the press service added.

Belarus stated Putin thanked Lukashenko. “The president of Russia supported and thanked his Belarusian colleague for his work,” it stated.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar stated Kyiv’s troops had “launched an offensive in several directions at the same time” on Saturday, apparently seizing a possibility to counterattack in opposition to Moscow’s forces whereas the ability wrestle was below method in Russia.

“In the direction of Orikhovo-Vasylivka, Bakhmut, Bohdanivka, Yahidne, Klishchiivka, Kurdyumivka . . . There is progress in all directions,” Maliar stated.

“The enemy is on the defensive, making great efforts to stop our offensive actions,” she continued. “At the same time, the enemy is suffering significant losses in personnel, weapons and equipment.”

Maliar stated that a number of Russian assaults within the east, backed with heavy artillery and air energy, had been repelled.

An adviser to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy mocked Prigozhin for his failure to oust the Russian president.

“Prigozhin’s phenomenal choice . . . you almost nullified Putin, took control of the central authorities, reached Moscow and suddenly . . . you retreat,” tweeted Mykhailo Podolyak.

Podolyak predicted that Prigozhin risked being assassinated, saying “for the fear that the Putin elite has experienced in the past 24 hours, this order will certainly be executed”.

Additional reporting by Christopher Miller and Roman Olearchyk in Kyiv