Current situation in Russia: Wagner group withdraws to Belarus following coup attempt.

Wagner Group Troops Withdraw Following Reported Truce

After seizing the southern Russian city of Rostov and advancing toward Moscow Saturday, the Wagner group’s troops pulled back following a reported truce between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin.

According to the regional government, Wagner mercenaries have begun leaving the Russian region of Lipetsk, which is roughly 8 hours north of Rostov, after ending their rebellion against the Kremlin. A Telegram post seen by CNN stated, “Units of PMC ‘Wagner,’ which stopped the day before in the Lipetsk region, left the territory of the region.”

Uncertainty Surrounds the Situation

The announcement caps a chaotic 36 hours in Russia while many factors remain uncertain, including Prigozhin’s present location.

As part of the reported agreement, Prigozhin will divert from Russia to Belarus, and criminal charges against him will be dropped. Prigozhin’s troops will also not face any action and will be allowed to sign contracts to join the Russian military, according to Reuters.

“You will ask me what will happen to Prigozhin personally?” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “The criminal case will be dropped against him. He himself will go to Belarus.”

But questions linger over how the short-lived rebellion will impact the image of Putin’s command.

Andrei Kolesnikov, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment who was in Moscow, told the Wall Street Journal the rebellion created an image of a leader who “couldn’t control a man from his own system who’s supposed to be under his full control.”

Meanwhile, calm has been restored to the city of Rostov, which marked the first stop of a larger Wagner group convoy on its way to Moscow Saturday. City residents resumed normal life as Russian military police stood guard in the same location where the paramilitary group had taken positions one day earlier, according to reports.

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The departure of Wagner fighters from their convoy to Moscow is due in part to a deal purportedly brokered between Belarusian President Aleksander Lukashenko and Prigozhin.

The major incident shook the foundation of the Russian state Saturday, as troops loyal to Wagner boss Prigozhin marched toward Moscow. An abrupt reversal occurred later during the advancement, causing Prigozhin to call off his mercenaries after claiming he had come within 124 miles of the capital but was turning around to avoid spilling Russian blood.

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