About mid-morning, word came that Wagner Chief Yevgeny Prigozhin ordered his troops to stop their march toward Moscow and return to their bases. The surprise came after Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko brokered a deal with Putin’s permission to stop the rebellion in its tracks. Prigozhin said that he ordered them to turn around to prevent Russian bloodshed. Putin has known Prigozhin for about 20 years and at one time viewed him as a friend. Will the Wagner Chief now end up like so many of Putin’s rivals – poisoned, or ‘mysteriously’ falling out of a window?
The “deal” included assurances that the members of the Wagner Group who did not participate in the rebellion would sign contracts with the Russian Defense Ministry. Those who did will “not be charged” (which is a farce in itself. This is Russia. Something bad will most assuredly happen to them, “deals” aside.)
🇷🇺 – Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov:
– Accusations were dropped against Prigozhin, who is leaving Russia for Belarus
– The people of Wagner who did not participate in the uprising will sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense
– Wagner’s fighters who participated were not… pic.twitter.com/1gypmkJbvP— Sprinter (@Sprinter99880) June 24, 2023
Early Saturday, Wagner troops appeared to control the military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don, a city 660 miles south of Moscow that runs Russian operations in Ukraine. Wagner troops and equipment also were in Lipetsk province, about 360 kilometers south of Moscow, where authorities were “taking all necessary measures to ensure the safety of the population,” said regional Gov. Igor Artamonov, via Telegram.
Later Saturday, Prigozhin announced that while his men were just 120 miles from Moscow, he decided to turn them back to avoid “shedding Russian blood.”
The announcement followed a statement from the office of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko saying he spent most of Saturday negotiating a deal between Prigozhin and Putin, The Wall Street Journal reported. Prigozhin agreed to halt the advance in a proposed settlement including security guarantees for Wagner troops, Lukashenko’s office said, without elaborating. (Fox)
Vladimir Putin hates disloyalty. His propensity for taking out his rivals in any way possible is well-known worldwide. He is not a person who is easily crossed. His rhetoric over this short rebellion indicated that he viewed it as an armed mutiny and would be punished severely. The Wagner Chief seemed in dire danger. The only question we have is how did this rebellion go away so suddenly after both sides seemed so angry? All may not be what it seems.
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
Guaranteed this situation is not exactly “over.”
“Whoever believes this will end soon is sorely mistaken. Never trust Putin. He loathes disloyalty more than anything else and Prigozhin moving to Belarus won’t guarantee that he will not also experience windows or tea…we should not be overly optimistic about regime change as after Putin, we may see someone even more radical.” Dr. Ivana Stradner, research fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies
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