The dust appears to be settling after one of the most remarkable days in Russian history in decades. Some Wagner Group mercenaries will join the official Russian military after their leader called off their march on Moscow and agreed to relocate to Belarus. Yevgeny Prigozhin stood down his troops, who were heading towards the Russian capital, saying he wished to avoid spilling Russian blood. His mercenaries were reportedly just 120 miles from Moscow after Prigozhin had vowed to “destroy anyone who stands in our way”. After negotiations with the Kremlin, Prigozhin, previously known as “Putin’s chef”, called an abrupt halt to the advance, which many observers had branded an attempted coup. Wagner boss turns his troops around – Russia mutiny latest As part of the agreement, the full details of which are yet to be revealed, it was reportedly decided that Prigozhin will leave Russia for Belarus and some of his Wagner fighters will be subsumed into the Russian military. (…) After the armed mutiny was called off, the Kremlin said all criminal charges against Prigozhin would be dropped, his Wagner fighters would not be prosecuted and he would relocate to Belarus.
siehe auch: Wagner-Aufstand beendet Kreml bestätigt Deal mit Prigoschin. Nach dem Aufstand der Söldnergruppe Wagner sollen deren Chef Prigoschin und seine Kämpfer nicht strafrechtlich verfolgt werden. Das russische Präsidialamt bestätigte, dass ein entsprechendes Abkommen getroffen wurde. Prigoschin werde nach Belarus ziehen.Der Machtkampf zwischen Russlands Präsident Wladimir Putin und Söldner-Chef Jewgeni Prigoschin ist nach einem Marsch der Wagner-Kämpfer auf Moskau mit einer Vereinbarung beendet worden. Präsidialamtssprecher Dmitri Peskow erklärte, Prigoschin werde nach Belarus gehen und die Anklage gegen ihn werde fallengelassen. Auch die Kämpfer seiner Wagner-Gruppe würden nicht strafrechtlich verfolgt.Die Vereinbarung sei vom belarusischen Staatschef Alexander Lukaschenko vermittelt worden, sagte Peskow. Dieser habe seine Hilfe angeboten, da er Prigoschin seit etwa 20 Jahren persönlich kenne. Putin habe dem zugestimmt. Die Wagner-Kämpfer, die sich nicht am Marsch beteiligt hätten, sollten Verträge mit dem Verteidigungsministerium abschließen, die Teilnehmer erhielten Straffreiheit wegen ihrer früheren Verdienste für die Nation. Beide Parteien betonten, mit der Vereinbarung Blutvergießen vermeiden zu wollen; Machtkampf in Russland “Ein schwerer Schlag für Putins Image”. Straffreiheit für Wagner-Chef Prigoschin, seine Söldner und ein Umzug nach Belarus – darauf haben sich der Kreml und Prigoschin geeinigt. Laut ARD-Korrespondentin Ina Ruck werden die Ereignisse des Samstags für Präsident Putin “schwer zu erklären sein”. (…) Prigoschin werde sich sich nach Belarus begeben, in welcher Funktion ist unklar. “Das alles wird sehr schwer zu erklären sein” so Ruck. Laut Peskow werde Russlands Präsident Wladimir Putin dazu auch keine neue Ansprache halten. “Es wäre für Putin auch sehr schwer, diese Kehrtwende und auch diese Schmach zu erklären.” Denn noch am Morgen habe Putin den Wagner-Chef und seine Männer des “Verrats bezichtigt und von einem Dolchstoß in den Rücken gesprochen – und nun gehen sie offenbar alle straffrei aus.”; Why Did Putin Let Prigozhin Walk Away? The chaotic spectacle of Prigozhin’s armed uprising shattered Putin’s carefully cultivated image as a strongman leader. But the Kremlin seemed powerless to do anything about it. The same government that has been slaughtering Ukrainian civilians for more than a year because it claims NATO baddies are too close to its borders allowed its own rogue mercenary boss to shoot down military helicopters on Saturday and, according to state media, kill several soldiers before calmly waltzing away to a new life in Belarus. The Kremlin even publicly guaranteed that Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin had President Vladimir Putin’s “word” he could safely leave the country—after conveniently having criminal charges against him dropped. So why is Prigozhin so untouchable? Or is the Kremlin simply biding its time to deal with him in a less public manner? It’s hard to imagine the former hot-dog vendor will get off unscathed after humiliating the Russian leader while the whole world watched. The chaotic spectacle of Prigozhin’s armed uprising and the ease with which he and his Wagner mercenaries appeared to take control in Rostov shattered Putin’s carefully cultivated image as a strongman leader. Hours after Putin vowed to take “brutal” measures against the coup organizers, they walked away. And in another blow to Putin, crowds of supportive Rostov residents were filmed cheering on the Wagner fighters and shaking their hands. That may have played a factor in the decision to let the whole thing slide. Prigozhin has amassed considerable support among pro-war hardliners in recent months and has appealed to ordinary Russians by positioning himself as an anti-elitist crusader (spoiler alert: he’s not). His frequent criticisms of the country’s military leadership have also won him praise for his “honesty” among some Russians who previously had no idea who he was. An unnamed source close to the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces was quoted telling the independent Russian news outlet iStories on Saturday that Putin had ordered security services to “liquidate” Prigozhin to avoid having to engage in battles in Russian cities. “Putin doesn’t need a big shootout, so the main task is to eliminate Prigozhin and tear off the backbone of Wagner, promising amnesty [to Wagner fighters] for this disgrace,” the source said.