Russia, and especially its capital, Moscow, breathed a sigh of relief this Sunday. The paramilitary forces of the Wagner Group were progressively withdrawing after their leader, Yevgueni Prigozhin, accepted a pact with the Kremlin the day before to put an end to his armed rebellion.
With the mediation of the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, the controversial businessman stopped the march on Moscow of his men, who are returning to their barracks.
Calm also came to the city of Rostov-on-Don, in southern Russia, after the “Wagnerites” abandoned it, according to the Ría Nóvosti agency. The mercenaries had taken it under their control on Saturday morning. From there they set out that day on a “march for justice,” as their boss called it, to Moscow, a thousand kilometers away.
According to the pact agreed on Saturday night, Prigozhin himself must go into exile, specifically the one offered by Lukashenko in Belarus. In return, Russia will not prosecute you for organizing a military mutiny.
Fighters of the Wagner Group who did not take part in the actions on Friday and Saturday will be able, if they wish, to sign a contract to join the Russian Armed Forces. Those who did take part do not have that possibility, but a criminal case for rebellion will not be opened against them either.
The mercenaries’ military vehicles reached 200 kilometers from Moscow, according to Prigozhin. This Sunday, the situation calmed down little by little in the Russian capital. The traffic restrictions imposed on the highways that the rebels had taken were being lifted and the security presence on the streets was being relaxed.
In another sign that the urgency of the crisis appears to have passed, Wagner’s fighters were also leaving the territory of Voronezh and Lipetsk oblasts south of Moscow, local authorities said.
