NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
The Kremlin claims Yevgeny Prigozhin will move to Belarus as part of deal to defuse rebellion tensions.
However, Russia has admitted that officials do not know the current whereabouts of the Wagner Group leader.
Speaking this evening, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko offered to mediate following nearly 24-hours of upheaval.
Lukashenko had known Prigozhin personally for around 20 years.
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Security had been stepped up in Moscow after Mr Prigozhin accused the Kremlin of launching a deadly missile strike on his Wagner troops.
Wagner forces called for an armed rebellion against Russia’s military leadership as president Vladimir Putin warned the group there will be ‘inevitable punishment’.
The Kremlin leader decried the ‘betrayal’ and ‘treason’ of the Wagner group following the challenge to his military power.
But troops also won’t face punishment as a criminal case against their chief is closed, Mr Peskov added in his statement this evening.
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The announcement follows a statement from the office of Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko – who said he had negotiated a deal after previously discussing the issue with Mr Putin.
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.
In Ukraine, Mr Prigozhin’s mercenaries have become a major force in the war, fighting as counterparts to the Russian army in battles with Ukrainian forces.
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That includes his fighters taking Bakhmut, the city where the bloodiest and longest battles have taken place.
Mr Prigozhin’s rebel soldiers had been en-route to Moscow today before turning round to prevent ‘bloodshed’.
He said the soldiers had advanced 200 km – 124 miles – towards the city in the last 24 hours.
In a new audio message, the Wagner leader says he ordered troops to ‘turn back because of the risk of blood being spilled’.
Witnesses have already reported seeing Wagner Group troops retreat from the city of Rostov-On-Don.
Huge crowds gathered to watch tanks and soldiers roll out the city.
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