THE feud between Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin and Russia’s military brass had come to an end after Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko successfully negotiated a truce between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prigozhin, prompting the Wagner chief to halt the mutiny and withdraw his forces after capturing a key army headquarters located in Rostov-Don city, Russia.
Prigozhin was seen leaving the military headquarters in the said city, with his supporters bidding him farewell.
The military can also be seen leaving the town in their combat vehicles.
Saturday had been a dramatic day for Russia, when Prigozhin, together with his Wagner troops, M-4 ‘don’ Federal highway towards Moscow and entered the city of Rostov-on-Don, as well as the Voronezh and Lipetsk regions without any fighting happening between Wagner and Russian forces.
Despite the tense situation, residents of the city were seen interacting with Wagner troops.
Several gunshots were heard in Rostov city during the day, but no casualties were reported.
Wagner managed to seize a military headquarters in Rostov-Don and Prigozhin was also seen talking with other Russian military officials.
Known as ‘Putin’s chef’, Yevgeny Prigozhin founded
The private military company Wagner.
The said group fought alongside regular Russian troops and was at the frontlines of the bloody and violent battle for Bakhmut, which is now under Russian control.
Prigozhin is also a vocal critic of the Russian military’s top brass, particularly Defense minister Sergey Shoigu and Chief of the General staff General Valery Gerasimove for mishandling the special military operation in Ukraine.
The Wagner chief has also refused to sign an official contract with the Russian defense ministry, and Russia’s defense ministry has been deceiving Putin and Russian society.
‘’Right now, the Russian Defense Ministry is trying to deceive the society and President [Putin] and tell a story that there was insane aggression from the Ukrainian side and they were going to attack us together with NATO. Thus, the so-called Special Military Operation began on February 24 (2022) for completely different reasons,’’ Yevgeny Prigozhin Wagner chief said.
On Friday, the Wagner chief accused the Russian military of striking Wagner’s field camps, to which the Russian defense ministry denied, calling it a ‘informal provocation’.
Despite this, Prigozhin said that his Wagner troops will start a so-called march for justice with a plan to reach the Russian capital of Moscow.
‘’A large number of our fighters died. We will decide how we will respond to this atrocity. The next step is ours,” Wagner PMC chief said.
After declaring his march, Russia’s federal security service accused Prigozhin of inciting a rebellion and opened a criminal case against him which could put in from 12-20 years in prison.
“All messages and video distributed on social networks on behalf of [Evgeny] Prigozhin about the alleged strike by the [Russian military] on the camps of PMC Wagner in the rear areas do not correspond to reality and are an informational provocation,” Russian defense ministry
Putin also released a video address, describing their actions as ‘backstabbing Russia and its people’ and that what they were doing was tantamount to treason.
He then vowed to crush the growing armed rebellion.
‘’Betrayal. Exorbitant ambitions and personal interests led to treason, to treason against his country and his people,’’ President Putin said.
According to the Kremlin, among the negotiations include dropping the case filed against Prigozhin, and that he would leave for Belarus, a country which is only kilometers away from Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv.
The mutiny was short-lived, as Lukashenko, who spoke to Prigozhin on behalf of Putin, announced that the Wagner chief agreed to end his attempted mutiny in exchange for security guarantees.
According to the Kremlin, among the negotiations include dropping the case filed against Prigozhin, and that he would leave for Belarus, a country which is only 100 kilometers away from Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv.
Members of the Wagner group would also not be prosecuted because of their achievements on the frontlines in Ukraine and Putin has always respected the exploits of Wagner.
But despite the insurrection, Russia continued to advance in Ukraine and has intensified its attacks further.
Meanwhile, western media reports citing an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Wagner forces did not retreat from conflict areas in their country while the mutiny in Rostov-Don was taking place.
