Fighters of Wagner private mercenary group stand on a tank outside a local circus near the headquarters of the Southern Military District in the city of Rostov-on-Don, Russia, June 24, 2023.STRINGER/Reuters
Fighters of the mutinous Wagner mercenary force started pulling out of the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don on Saturday night.
A Reuters journalist saw Wagner forces pulling away from the district military headquarters, where they had taken control.
Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin had said his forces would return to base in order to avoid bloodshed after Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said he had brokered a deal, in a de-escalation of what had become a major challenge to President Vladimir Putin’s grip on power.
The fighters of the Wagner private army were already most of the way to the capital, having captured the city of Rostov and set off on an 1,100 km race to Moscow.
In an audio message released by his press service, Prigozhin said Russia “wanted to disband the Wagner military company.”
“We embarked on a march of justice on June 23. 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,” he said.
“Now the moment has come when blood could be spilled. Understanding responsibility [for the chance] that Russian blood will be spilled on one side, we are turning our columns around and going back to field camps as planned.”
Russia says Wagner Group’s leader will move to Belarus after his rebellious march challenged Putin
A deal to halt further movement of Wagner fighters across Russia in return for guarantees of safety for the rebels was brokered by Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko, his office said.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko had a second telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday evening to inform him of the results of his talks with Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, Belarusian state news agency Belta reported.
Earlier, Prigozhin said his men were on a “march for justice” to remove corrupt and incompetent Russian commanders he blames for botching the war in Ukraine.
In a televised address from the Kremlin, Putin said Russia’s very existence was 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.
“All those who deliberately stepped on the path of betrayal, who prepared an armed insurrection, who took the path of blackmail and terrorist methods, will suffer inevitable punishment, will answer both to the law and to our people.”
Putin later signed a law tightening rules for breaking martial law in places where it has been imposed, the RIA news agency said.
Video obtained by Reuters showed troop carriers and two flatbed trucks each carrying a tank driving 30 miles (50 km) beyond Voronezh, more than half way to Moscow, where a helicopter fired on them.
Prigozhin, whose private army fought the bloodiest battles in Ukraine even as he feuded for months with the military top brass, said he had captured the headquarters of Russia’s Southern Military District in the city of Rostov without firing a shot.
Rostov serves as the main rear logistical hub for Russia’s entire invasion force in Ukraine.