Moscow: Having posed the most serious challenge to President Vladimir Putin in his more than two decades in power by ordering his troops to march to Moscow, Yevgeny Prigozhin made an abrupt U-turn.
Prigozhin’s private army appeared to have taken control of military facilities in the Russian cities of Rostov-on-Don — which runs Russian operations in Ukraine — and Voronezh.
A shaky and nervous Moscow was bracing for the arrival of forces from the Wagner Group, by erecting checkpoints with armoured vehicles and troops, shutting down Red Square and urging motorists to stay off some roads.
However, with his men just 200 km from Moscow, the rebellious Russian mercenary commander said he had ordered his troops to turn back to avoid “shedding Russian blood.”
So what led to Prigozhin’s change of heart?
A deal was struck to defuse an escalating crisis, mediated by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a staunch Putin ally, reported AP.
As per the deal, charges against Prigozhin for mounting an armed rebellion will be dropped and the troops who were part of the proposed ‘coup’ won’t be prosecuted either, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced.
Fighters from Wagner Group who did not take part in the temporary ‘revolt’ will be offered contracts by the Russian Defence Ministry.
Earlier on Saturday, Putin had vowed to crush the ‘armed rebellion’ led by his one-time protégé Prigozhin and ordered his arrest.
But that was not needed, thanks to his Belarusian ally.
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