The head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has announced that his troops will stop their march toward Moscow.
Wagner forces attempted a coup d'etat on Russian military bases on Saturday morning, June 24, claiming they wanted to change Russia's military leadership in response to an alleged Russian strike on its Ukrainian base.
Wagner now asserts, however, that it is retreating.
Saturday evening, Prighozin stated:
"They were going to dismantle PMC Wagner. We came out on 23 June to the March of Justice. In a day, we walked to nearly 200km away from Moscow. In this time, we did not spill a single drop of blood of our fighters. Now, the moment has come when blood may spill. That’s why, understanding the responsibility for spilling Russian blood on one of the sides, we are turning back our convoys and going back to field camps according to the plan."
According to reports, Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, met with Prigozhin all day and claimed responsibility for the peace agreement.
The agreement eliminates all criminal charges against Prighozin and provides fighters of PMC Wagner with security and immunity.
In accordance with Lukashenko's terms, Prigozhin agreed to halt his forces' movement and return to his bases.
The attempted coup appears to have ended, and Prigozhin and his troops will return to their bases.
Vehicle movement restrictions have been lifted from the Voronezh region, which was the scene of earlier clashes during the coup.
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