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Wagner chief says he ordered his Russian mercenaries to halt march on Moscow

June 24, 2023

A rebellious mercenary commander said Saturday he ordered his mercenaries to halt their march on Moscow and retreat to field camps in Ukraine, appearing to defuse a dramatically escalating crisis that represented the most significant challenge to President Vladimir Putin in his more than two decades in power.

Moscow had braced for the arrival of forces from the Wagner Group, a private army led by Yevgeny Prigozhin that has been fighting alongside regular Russian troops in Ukraine, by erecting checkpoints with armored vehicles and troops on the city’s southern edge. Red Square was shut down, and the mayor urged motorists to stay off some roads.

But Prigozhin announced that while his men were just 200 kilometers (120 miles) from Moscow, he decided to turn them back to avoid “shedding Russian blood.”

He did not say whether the Kremlin had responded to his demand to oust Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. There was no immediate comment from Putin’s government.

The announcement followed a statement from the office of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko saying he had negotiated a deal with Prigozhin after discussing the issue with Putin. Prigozhin agreed to halt the advance in a proposed settlement including security guarantees for Wagner troops, Lukashenko’s office said, without elaborating.

Servicemen of the Wagner Group military company guard an area at the headquarters of the Southern Military District in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, Saturday, June 24, 2023. Russia’s security services had responded to Prigozhin’s declaration of an armed rebellion by calling for his arrest. In a sign of how seriously the Kremlin took the threat, security was heightened in Moscow, Rostov-on-Don and other regions. (AP Photo)

A serviceman stands atop of an armored vehicle of the Wagner Group military company, as he guards an area at the HQ of the Southern Military District in a street in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, Saturday, June 24, 2023. Russia’s security services had responded to Prigozhin’s declaration of an armed rebellion by calling for his arrest. In a sign of how seriously the Kremlin took the threat, security was heightened in Moscow, Rostov-on-Don and other regions. (AP Photo)

An APC and road police officers stand on the highway at the entrance to Moscow, Russia, Saturday, June 24, 2023. (AP Photo)

Russian army servicemen and police officers guard the highway at the entrance to Moscow, Russia, Saturday, June 24, 2023. (AP Photo)

Firefighters work on extinguishing thae fire after reports an explosion hit a fuel depot in Voronezh, Russia, some 460 kilometers (285 miles) south of Moscow, Saturday, June 24, 2023. (Andrey Arxipov, Kommersant Publishing House via AP)

A man takes down a poster reading “Join us at Wagner”, which is associated with the owner of the Wagner private military contractor, Yevgeny Prigozhin, is seen above a highway on the outskirts of St. Petersburg, Russia, Saturday, June 24, 2023. Russia’s security services have responded to mercenary chief Prigozhin’s declaration of an armed rebellion by calling for his arrest. In a sign of how seriously the Kremlin took the threat, security was heightened in Moscow, Rostov-on-Don and other regions. (AP Photo)

In this photo taken from video, a woman poses for a photo at a Russian armored vehicle, with writing reading “Siberia”, parked in a street in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, Saturday, June 24, 2023. Russia’s security services had responded to mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s declaration of an armed rebellion by calling for his arrest. In a sign of how seriously the Kremlin took the threat, security was heightened in Moscow, Rostov-on-Don and other regions. (AP Photo)

In this photo taken from video, Russian armored vehicles are parked in a street in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, Saturday, June 24, 2023. Russia’s security services had responded to Russia’s security services had responded to mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s declaration of an armed rebellion by calling for his arrest. In a sign of how seriously the Kremlin took the threat, security was heightened in Moscow, Rostov-on-Don and other regions. (AP Photo)

Policemen guard an area near an office of the ‘PMC Wagner Centre’, which is associated with the owner of the Wagner private military contractor, Yevgeny Prigozhin, in St. Petersburg, Russia, Saturday, June 24, 2023. Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed Saturday to defend Russia against an armed rebellion by Prigozhin, who led his troops out of Ukraine and into a key city south of Moscow. (AP Photo)

In this photo taken from video, people gather to look at military vehicles parked in a street in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, Saturday, June 24, 2023. Russia’s security services have responded to mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s declaration of an armed rebellion by calling for his arrest. In a sign of how seriously the Kremlin took the threat, security was heightened in Moscow, Rostov-on-Don and other regions. (AP Photo)

In this photo taken from video a Russian armored vehicle stands in a street in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, Saturday, June 24, 2023. Russia’s security services had responded to Prigozhin’s declaration of an armed rebellion by calling for his arrest. In a sign of how seriously the Kremlin took the threat, security was heightened in Moscow, Rostov-on-Don and other regions. (AP Photo)

CORRECTS DATE – In this photo taken from video a Russian armored vehicle stands in a street in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, Saturday, June 24, 2023. Russia’s security services responded to mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s declaration of an armed rebellion by calling for his arrest. In a sign of how seriously the Kremlin took the threat, security was heightened in Moscow, Rostov-on-Don and other regions. (AP Photo)

In this handout photo taken from video released by Russian Presidential Press Service, Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses the nation in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, June 24, 2023. Putin addressed the nation after mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin called for armed rebellion after reaching Rostov-on-Don, a Russian city, home to the Russian military headquarters that oversees the fighting in Ukraine. (Russian Presidential Press Service via AP)

People stand at a parking with damaged cars in front of a multi-story apartment building after Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, June 24, 2023. Russian missile attack killed and injured some people when falling debris caused a fire on several floors of a 24-story apartment building in a central district, Serhii Popko, the head of the city’s military administration, posted on Telegram. (AP Photo/Anton Shtuka)

FILE Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, speaks with Chief of the General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov, left, and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, after a meeting with senior military officers in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin has remained silent about harsh criticism of the top military brass from Yevgeny Prigozhin, the maverick millionaire head of the private military contractor Wagner. (Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)

A multi-story apartment building is seen damaged following a Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, June 24, 2023. Russian missile attack killed and injured some people when falling debris caused a fire on several floors of a 24-story apartment building in a central district, Serhii Popko, the head of the city’s military administration, posted on Telegram. (AP Photo/Anton Shtuka)

A multi-story apartment building is damaged during Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, early Saturday, June 24, 2023. Russian missile attack killed and injured some people when falling debris caused a fire on several floors of a 24-story apartment building in a central district, Serhii Popko, the head of the city’s military administration, posted on Telegram. (AP Photo/Anton Shtuka)

Two servicemen stand on a tribune of Lenin mausoleum closed due to security reasons, Red Square in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, June 24, 2023. (AP Photo)

A view of the Russian Defense Ministry building with anti-aircraft artillery systems atop the roof in Moscow, Saturday, June 24, 2023. (AP Photo)

In this grab taken from video and released by Prigozhin Press Service on Friday, June 23, 2023, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the outspoken millionaire head of the private military contractor Wagner, speaks during his interview at an unspecified location. Prigozhin, the millionaire owner of the Wagner Group military contractor, assailed the Russian military top brass, accusing it of downplaying the threat posed by the Ukrainian counteroffensive. (Prigozhin Press Service via AP, File)

FILE – Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, left, and Chief of the Russian General Staff Valery Gerasimov attend the meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin during his visit to the joint staff of troops involved in Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, at an unknown location, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022. Russian military leaders have remained silent as they faced angry rants from Yevgeny Prigozhin, the maverick millionaire head of the private military contractor Wagner. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)

FILE – In this handout photo taken from video released by Prigozhin Press Service on Friday, March 3, 2023, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the owner of the Wagner Group military company, addresses Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asking him to withdraw the remaining Ukrainian forces from Bakhmut to save their lives, at an unspecified location in Ukraine. Prigozhin’s criticism of the top military brass is in stark contrast with more than two decades of rigidly controlled rule by President Vladimir Putin without any sign of infighting among his top lieutenants. (Prigozhin Press Service via AP, File)

In this handout photo taken from video released by Prigozhin Press Service, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the owner of the Wagner Group military company, records his video addresses in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, Saturday, June 24, 2023. The owner of the Wagner private military contractor who called for an armed rebellion aimed at ousting Russia’s defense minister has confirmed in a video that he and his troops have reached Rostov-on-Don. (Prigozhin Press Service via AP)

A man takes down the poster with writing reading “Join us at Wagner”, which is associated with the owner of the Wagner private military contractor, Yevgeny Prigozhin, is seen above a highway on the outskirts of St. Petersburg, Russia, Saturday, June 24, 2023. Russia’s security services have responded to mercenary chief Prigozhin’s declaration of an armed rebellion by calling for his arrest. In a sign of how seriously the Kremlin took the threat, security was heightened in Moscow, Rostov-on-Don and other regions. (AP Photo)

Russian servicemen guard an area standing in front of a tank in a street in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, Saturday, June 24, 2023. Russia’s security services have responded to mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s declaration of an armed rebellion by calling for his arrest. In a sign of how seriously the Kremlin took the threat, security was heightened in Moscow, Rostov-on-Don and other regions. (Vasily Deryugin, Kommersant Publishing House via AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen on monitors as he addresses the nation after Yevgeny Prigozhin, the owner of the Wagner Group military company, called for armed rebellion and reached the southern city of Rostov-on-Don with his troops, in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, June 24, 2023. (Pavel Bednyakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

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Putin had vowed harsh consequences for organizers of the armed uprising led by his onetime protege, who brought his forces out of Ukraine, seized a key military facility in southern Russia and advanced toward Moscow.

In a televised speech to the nation, Putin called the rebellion a “betrayal” and “treason.”

“All those who prepared the rebellion will suffer inevitable punishment,” Putin said. “The armed forces and other government agencies have received the necessary orders.”

It wasn’t immediately clear what concessions, if any, Putin may have made to persuade Prigozhin to halt his march.

If he accedes to Prigozhin’s demand to oust Shoigu, Prigozhin would emerge from the crisis as a clear winner in a major blow to Putin’s authority.

If Prigozhin agrees not to press the demand, Putin could award him with more lucrative government contracts like those on which he has built his fortune in the past.

However, it would be awkward and politically damaging for Putin to backtrack after branding Prigozhin a backstabbing traitor.

Some observers speculated that Prigozhin could make concessions such as putting the Wagner Group under federal authority, or he could shift the force’s activities back to Africa, where his mercenaries have been active in recent years.

Early Saturday, Prigozhin’s private army appeared to control the military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don, a city 660 miles (over 1,000 kilometers) south of Moscow that runs Russian operations in Ukraine, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said.

Wagner troops and equipment also were in Lipetsk province, about 360 kilometers (225 miles) south of Moscow, where authorities were “taking all necessary measures to ensure the safety of the population,” said regional Gov. Igor Artamonov, via Telegram.

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 warned that traffic could be restricted in parts of the capital and declared Monday a non-working day for most residents.

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 its army to take back territory seized by Russian forces.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Moscow was suffering “full-scale weakness” and that Kyiv was protecting Europe from “the spread of Russian evil and chaos.”

The Federal Security Service, or FSB, called for Prigozhin’s arrest Friday night after he declared the armed rebellion.

Prigozhin said earlier Saturday that his fighters would not surrender, as “we do not want the country to live on in corruption, deceit and bureaucracy.”

“Regarding the betrayal of the motherland, the president was deeply mistaken. We are patriots of our homeland,” he said in an audio message on his Telegram channel.

Prigozhin said he had 25,000 troops under his command and urged the army not to offer resistance.

He posted video of himself at the military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don and claimed his forces had taken control of the airfield and other military facilities in the city without any deaths or even “a single gunshot.” Other videos on social media showed military vehicles, including tanks, on the streets.

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

“The entire military, economic and information machine of the West is waged against us,” Putin said.

State-controlled TV networks led their newscasts with Putin’s statement and reported the tense situation in Rostov-on-Don. Some showed social media videos of residents denouncing Wagner troops.

Broadcasters also carried statements from top officials and lawmakers voicing support for Putin and condemning Prigozhin.

In announcing the rebellion, Prigozhin said he wanted to punish Shoigu after he accused Russian government forces of attacking Wagner field camps in Ukraine with rockets, helicopter gunships and artillery. He claimed that “a huge number of our comrades got killed.”

Prigozhin said his forces shot down a Russian military helicopter that fired on a civilian convoy, but there was no independent confirmation.

He also alleged that Gen. Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff, ordered the attacks following a meeting with Shoigu in Rostov, where they decided to destroy the military contractor.

The Defense Ministry denied attacking the Wagner camps.

The 62-year-old Prigozhin, a former convict, has long ties to the Russian leader and won lucrative Kremlin catering contracts that earned him the nickname “Putin’s chef.”

He gained attention in the U.S. when he and a dozen other Russian nationals were charged with operating a covert social media campaign aimed at fomenting discord ahead of Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential election victory. He formed the Wagner mercenary group, which sent military contractors to Libya, Syria, several African countries and eventually Ukraine.

After Putin’s address, in which he called for unity, officials sought to reiterate their allegiance to the Kremlin and urged Prigozhin to back down.

Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the lower house of parliament, said lawmakers “stand for the consolidation of forces” and support Putin.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova echoed that, saying in a Telegram post that “we have one commander in chief. Not two, not three. One.”

Ramzan Kadyrov, the strongman leader of the Chechnya region who used to side with Prigozhin in his criticism of the military, also expressed his full support of Putin’s “every word.”

“The mutiny needs to be suppressed,” Kadyrov said.

Even with the confrontation seemingly defused, it appeared likely to further hinder Moscow’s war effort as Kyiv’s forces probed Russian defenses in the initial stages of a counteroffensive.

Wagner forces have played a crucial role, capturing the eastern city of Bakhmut, an area where the bloodiest and longest battles have taken place. But Prigozhin has increasingly criticized the military brass, accusing it of incompetence and of starving his troops of munitions.

Prigozhin’s actions could have significant implications for the war. Orysia Lutsevych, the head of the Ukraine Forum at the Chatham House think tank in London, said the infighting could create confusion and potential division among Russian military forces.

“Russian troops in Ukraine may well now be operating in a vacuum, without clear military instructions, and doubts about whom to obey and follow,” Lutsevych said. “This creates a unique and unprecedented military opportunity for the Ukrainian army.”

Ukrainian soldier Andrii Kvasnytsia, attending a funeral for a comrade, said Prigozhin’s intentions toward Ukraine might be worse than Putin’s, but that the infighting would still benefit the country.

Western countries monitored developments closely. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with his counterparts in the other G7 countries and the European Union’s foreign affairs representative, his spokesman said, adding that Blinken “reiterated that support by the United States for Ukraine will not change.”

Latvia and Estonia, two NATO countries that border Russia, said they were increasing security at their borders.

The Kremlin said Putin spoke by phone with the leaders of Turkey, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan about the events.

Although there was speculation that Putin had left Moscow, his spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied it.

Associated Press writer Danica Kirka in London contributed.

Orange County Register

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Wagner chief says he ordered his Russian mercenaries to halt march on Moscow

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