Received

The greatest challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin in his more than two decades in power has fizzled out relatively peacefully.

On Saturday, the rebellious mercenary commander who ordered his troops to march on Moscow abruptly reached a deal with the Kremlin to go into exile and sounded the retreat.

The dramatic, if brief, revolt shifted the landscape for the Kremlin and the 16-month-old war in Ukraine and prompted Russia to pull soldiers back from the battlefield to defend the capital, a stunning recognition of the threat posed by Wagner Group soldiers under the command of Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Under the deal announced by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Prigozhin will go to neighbouring Belarus and charges of mounting an armed rebellion will be dropped.

The government said it also would not prosecute fighters who took part, while those who did not join in were to be offered contracts by the Defence Ministry.

Putin had vowed earlier to punish those behind the armed uprising led by his one-time protege, whose forces seized a key military facility in southern Russia before advancing on the capital.

In a televised speech to the nation, he called the rebellion a "betrayal" and "treason."

In allowing Prigozhin and his forces to go free, Peskov said, Putin's "highest goal" was "to avoid bloodshed and internal confrontation with unpredictable results".

Moscow had braced for the arrival of the Wagner forces by erecting checkpoints with armoured vehicles and troops on the city's southern edge.

Red Square was shut down and the mayor urged motorists to stay off some roads.

About 3000 Chechen soldiers were pulled from fighting in Ukraine and rushed there early on Saturday, state television in Chechnya reported, signalling the Kremlin's desperation as the Wagner troops advanced to, according to Prigozhin, 200 kilometres from Moscow.

But after the deal was struck, Prigozhin announced he had decided to retreat to avoid "shedding Russian blood".

His troops were ordered back to their field camps in Ukraine, where they have been fighting alongside Russian regular soldiers.

Prigozhin has demanded the removal of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, long the target of his withering criticism for his conduct of the war in Ukraine.

On Friday, he accused forces under Shoigu's command of attacking Wagner camps and killing "a huge number of our comrades".

Prigozhin did not say whether the Kremlin had responded to his demand.

Early on Saturday, Prigozhin's private army appeared to control the military headquarters in Rostov, a city 1000 kilometres south of Moscow, which runs Russian operations in Ukraine, Britain's Ministry of Defense said.

A video from the city posted on Russian messaging app channels showed people cheering Wagner troops as they left Rostov.

Prigozhin was seen riding in one of the vehicles, and people greeted him and some ran to shake his hand as he lowered the window. The regional governor later said that all of the troops had left the city.

Wagner troops and equipment also were in Lipetsk province, about 360 kilometers south of Moscow.

Authorities declared a "counterterrorist regime" in Moscow and its surrounding region, enhancing security and restricting some movement.

On the southern outskirts, troops erected checkpoints, arranged sandbags and set up machine guns. Crews dug up sections of highways to slow the march.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin declared Monday a non-working day for most residents as part of the heightened security, a measure that remained in effect even after the retreat.

The dramatic developments came exactly 16 months after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Europe's largest conflict since World War II, which has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions and reduced cities to rubble.

Ukrainians hoped the Russian infighting would create opportunities for their army to take back territory seized by Russian forces.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said late on Saturday, shortly before Prigozhin announced his retreat, that the march exposed weakness in the Kremlin and "showed all Russian bandits, mercenaries, oligarchs" it was easy to capture Russian cities "and, probably, arsenals".

Prigozhin had vowed earlier that his fighters, whom he said number some 25,000, would not surrender because "we do not want the country to live on in corruption, deceit and bureaucracy".

The short-lived rebellion came as Russia is "fighting the toughest battle for its future," Putin said, with the West piling sanctions on Moscow and arming Ukraine.

Wagner troops have played a crucial role in the Ukraine war, capturing the eastern city of Bakhmut, an area where the bloodiest and longest battles have taken place.

But Prigozhin has increasingly criticised the military brass, accusing it of incompetence and of starving his troops of munitions.

The 62-year-old Prigozhin, a former convict, has longstanding ties to Putin and won lucrative Kremlin catering contracts that earned him the nickname "Putin's chef".

© RAW 2023

Heavily armed Russian mercenaries who advanced most of the way to Moscow have begun turning back, de-escalating a major challenge to President Vladimir Putin's grip on power, in a move their leader said would avoid bloodshed.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, a former Putin ally and founder of the Wagner army, said his men reached within 200 km of the capital. Earlier, Moscow deployed soldiers in preparation for their arrival and told residents to avoid going out.

The Wagner fighters captured the city of Rostov hundreds of miles to the south before racing in convoy through the country, transporting tanks and armoured trucks and smashing through barricades set up to stop them, video showed.

On Saturday night, Wagner fighters loaded tanks on trailers and began withdrawing from the Rostov military headquarters they had seized, a Reuters witness said.

"In 24 hours we got to within 200 km of Moscow. In this time we did not spill a single drop of our fighters' blood," Prigozhin, dressed in full combat uniform at an undisclosed location, said in a video.

"Understanding ... that Russian blood will be spilled on one side, we are turning our columns around and going back to field camps as planned."

Reuters could not independently verify how far Prigozhin's mercenaries had reached. Video earlier showed convoys of Wagner vehicles less than 500 km from Moscow.

The office of Alexander Lukashenko said the decision to halt further movement of Wagner fighters across Russia was brokered by the Belarusian President, with Putin's approval, in return for guarantees for their safety.

His office did not give further details. There was no immediate word from Putin on the apparent deal.

Wagner's lightning insurrection appeared to develop with little pushback from Russia's regular armed forces, raising questions about Putin's grip on power in the nuclear-armed nation even after the abrupt halt to Wagner's advance.

Earlier, Prigozhin said that what he called a "march for justice" was intended to remove corrupt and incompetent Russian commanders he blames for botching the war in Ukraine.

In a televised address from the Kremlin, Putin earlier said the Wagner rebellion put Russia's very existence under threat.

"We are fighting for the lives and security of our people, for our sovereignty and independence, for the right to remain Russia, a state with a thousand-year history," he said, vowing punishment for those who "prepared an armed insurrection".

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the Wagner revolt, which sparked a flurry of high-level calls between Western leaders, exposed chaos in Russia.

"Today the world can see that the masters of Russia control nothing. And that means nothing. Simply complete chaos. An absence of any predictability," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.

Video obtained by Reuters showed troop carriers and two flatbed trucks each carrying a tank driving 50 km beyond the town of Voronezh, more than half way to Moscow.

A helicopter fired on them near Voronezh, where a fuel depot exploded in a fireball shortly after a helicopter flew by, video footage obtained by Reuters showed.

The fighters led by Prigozhin, a former convict, include thousands of ex-prisoners recruited from Russian jails.

His men fought the bloodiest battles of the 16-month Ukraine war, including the protracted battle for the eastern city of Bakhmut. He railed for months against the regular army's top brass, accusing generals of incompetence and of withholding ammunition from his fighters.

This month, he defied orders to sign a contract placing his troops under Defence Ministry command.

He launched the apparent mutiny on Friday after alleging that the military had killed many of his fighters in an air strike. The Defence Ministry denied this.

He said he had captured the headquarters of Russia's Southern Military District without firing a shot in Rostov, which serves as the main rear logistical hub for Russia's entire invasion force in Ukraine.

Western capitals said they were closely following the situation in nuclear-armed Russia. US President Joe Biden spoke with the leaders of France, Germany and Britain, while Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to G7 counterparts.

"This represents the most significant challenge to the Russian state in recent times," Britain's defence ministry said.

The insurrection risked leaving Russia's invasion force in Ukraine in disarray, just as Kyiv is launching its strongest counteroffensive since the war began in February last year.

Ukraine's military said on Saturday its forces made advances near Bakhmut, on the eastern front, and in an area further south.

© RAW 2023

Heavily armed Russian mercenaries who advanced most of the way to Moscow have begun turning back, de-escalating a major challenge to President Vladimir Putin's grip on power, in a move their leader says will avoid bloodshed.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, a former Putin ally and founder of the Wagner army, said his men reached within 200 km of the capital on Saturday.

Earlier, Moscow deployed soldiers in preparation for their arrival and told residents to avoid going out.

The Wagner fighters captured the city of Rostov hundreds of kilometres to the south before racing in convoy through the country, transporting tanks and armoured trucks and smashing through barricades set up to stop them, video showed.

On Saturday night, Wagner fighters loaded tanks on trailers and began withdrawing from the Rostov military headquarters they had seized.

"In 24 hours we got to within 200 km of Moscow. In this time we did not spill a single drop of our fighters' blood," Prigozhin, dressed in full combat uniform at an undisclosed location, said in a video.

"Understanding ... that Russian blood will be spilled on one side, we are turning our columns around and going back to field camps as planned."

Reuters could not independently verify how far Prigozhin's mercenaries had reached.

The office of Alexander Lukashenko said the decision to halt further movement of Wagner fighters was brokered by the Belarusian president, with Putin's approval, in return for guarantees for their safety.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Prigozhin would move to Belarus under the deal.

Peskov said Lukashenko had offered to mediate because he had known the mercenary leader personally for about 20 years.

Wagner's lightning insurrection appeared to develop with little pushback from Russia's regular armed forces, raising questions about Putin's hold on power in the nuclear-armed nation even after the abrupt halt to Wagner's advance.

Earlier, Prigozhin said what he called a "march for justice" was intended to remove corrupt and incompetent Russian commanders he blames for botching the war in Ukraine.

In a televised address from the Kremlin, Putin earlier said the Wagner rebellion put Russia's very existence under threat.

"We are fighting for the lives and security of our people, for our sovereignty and independence, for the right to remain Russia, a state with a thousand-year history," Putin said, vowing punishment for those who "prepared an armed insurrection".

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the Wagner revolt, which sparked a flurry of high-level calls between Western leaders, exposed turmoil in Russia.

"Today the world can see that the masters of Russia control nothing. And that means nothing. Simply complete chaos. An absence of any predictability," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.

Video obtained by Reuters showed troop carriers and two flatbed trucks each carrying a tank driving 50 km beyond the town of Voronezh, more than halfway to Moscow.

A helicopter fired on them near Voronezh, where a fuel depot exploded in a fireball shortly after a helicopter flew by, video obtained by Reuters showed.

The fighters led by Prigozhin, a former convict, include thousands of ex-prisoners recruited from Russian jails.

His men fought the bloodiest battles of the 16-month Ukraine war, including for the eastern city of Bakhmut.

He railed for months against the military's top brass, especially Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and the chief of the general staff, Valery Gerasimov, accusing them of incompetence and of withholding ammunition from his fighters.

This month, he defied orders to sign a contract placing his troops under Defence Ministry command.

He launched the apparent mutiny on Friday after alleging that the military had killed many of his fighters in an air strike. The Defence Ministry denied this.

He said he had captured the headquarters of Russia's Southern Military District without firing a shot in Rostov, which serves as the main rear logistical hub for Russia's entire invasion force in Ukraine.

The surrounding area is also an important oil, gas and grains region.

Residents of the city had milled about calmly, filming on mobile phones as Wagner fighters in armoured vehicles and battle tanks took up positions.

One tank was wedged between stucco buildings with posters advertising a circus. Another had "Siberia" daubed in red paint across the front, an apparent statement of intent to sweep across the breadth of Russia.

Western capitals said they were closely following the situation. US President Joe Biden spoke with the leaders of France, Germany and Britain, while Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to G7 counterparts.

The insurrection risked leaving Russia's invasion force in Ukraine in disarray, just as Kyiv is launching its strongest counteroffensive since the war began in February last year.

Ukraine's military said on Saturday its forces made advances near Bakhmut, on the eastern front, and further south.

© RAW 2023