Wagner chief banished from Russia by Putin after calling off Moscow attack

24 June 2023 , 20:11

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Yevgeny Prigozhin, the outspoken millionaire head of the private military contractor Wagner, is pictured (Image: AP)

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has left Russia for Belarus after President Vladimir Putin dropped charges against him.

The Kremlin has announced charges against him and his Wagner forces will be dropped by Russian authorities to avoid "bloodshed".

Crowds have gathered tonight in Rostov-on-Don to say goodbye to Wagner troops as the mercenaries leave the city.

Prigozhin himself will move to Belarus under a deal brokered by the Belarusian president to end today's armed mutiny against Russia's military leadership, the Kremlinsaid.

The Wagner boss and his fighters will also be safe from prosecution under the agreement, it added.

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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Alexander Lukashenko had offered to mediate, with Russian President Vladimir Putin's agreement, because he had known Prigozhin personally for around 20 years.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, left, is pictured with Russian President Vladimir Putin (AP)

Dmitry Peskov, President Putin's press secretary, said Wagner mercenaries who wish to sign a Ministry of Defence contract can do so.

In a dramatic U-turn earlier, Prigozhin confirmed he will take further steps to de-escalate tensions.

He issued an audio message, confirming his fighters are returning to their bases to "avoid bloodshed".

He said he "gave the order to turn back because of the risk of blood being spilled".

Servicemen of the Wagner Group military company talk to each other in Rostov (AP)

"We’re turning around our convoys and going in the opposite direction," Prigozhin continued.

The U-turn comes after Vladimir Putin appeared ready for war, after his forces blitzed an oil depot in Russia's Voronezh region - as the Wagner mercenary group stormed barricades, edging closer to Moscow.

"We left on June 23 for the march of justice," Prigozhin adds in his audio message.

Members of Wagner group detain a man in the city of Rostov (AFP via Getty Images)

"In a day we travelled, not reaching 200 km, to Moscow.

"During this time, we have not shed a single drop of the blood of our fighters.

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"Now the moment has come when blood could be shed, therefore, realising all the responsibility for the fact that Russian blood will be shed on one of the sides, we turn our columns around and return in the opposite direction to the field camps, according to the plan."

Bradley Jolly