MOSCOW: Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner mercenary group, has left the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don with his soldiers.
Prigozhin and all of his fighters vacated Russia’s military headquarters in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don, the RIA news agency reported. Wagner fighters loaded tanks on trailers and began withdrawing from the Rostov military headquarters they had seized, media witness said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Lukashenko had offered to mediate, with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s agreement, because he had known Prigozhin personally for around 20 years.
Peskov said Wagner troops won’t face punishment for rebellion as criminal case against their chief is closed. The fighters who didn’t take part in the march will sign contracts with the defence ministry while others won’t be prosecuted in consideration of their service, he said, adding that avoiding bloodshed was more important than punishing people. The rebel group’s departure follows a deal brokered by Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko under which Prigozhin and his mercenary soldiers will avoid prosecution, and Prigozhin will go into exile in Belarus.
The Wagner mutiny lasted only a day, but Prigozhin claimed his mercenary soldiers managed to reach within 200km of Moscow.
From Kyiv, Mansur Mirovalev says Ukraine has responded to the Wagner mutiny in Russia with caution and hope. Niko Vorobyov, meanwhile, says the Wagner group’s move reflects the fault lines that have developed in Russia since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began.
