Belarus dictator Lukashenko appears as negotiator between Russian army leadership and the Wagner.

In a dramatic turn of events, tensions between Russia’s military leadership and the rebellious Wagner private mercenary army reached a boiling point as they approached Moscow, only to come to an abrupt halt 200 kilometers southeast of the capital.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the chief of the Wagner who were going to punish “incompetent generals”, changed his mind for the sake of “preventing further Russian bloodshed.” In an audio message published on his Telegram channel, the warlord ordered his mercenaries to turn back and leave Russian territory. 

"The Wagner Group is at risk of being disbanded. We would have marched for justice on 23 June. Within 24 hours, we stopped 200 kilometers away from Moscow. During this time, we haven't shed a drop of our fighters' blood. Now we have reached the point where blood might be shed. Therefore, fully aware of the responsibility that Russian blood could be spilled, we are turning our columns and heading in the opposite direction, towards military camps, according to the plan," stated Prigozhin.

While the Wagner mercenaries were on march, Russian regular troops were brought into the capital to block the advancing rebels. The news of the sudden retreat was met with relief in the Kremlin, where President Vladimir Putin called Wagner fighters "traitors" and promised severe consequences for Wagner.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether the Russian leader would sack his Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu and other generals as Prigozhin had demanded. It’s also unclear whether this was just a show of power, or an attempt to stage a coup.

There’ve been no official statements from the Russian government regarding this turn of events.

Is Wagner mutiny over?

It also appears that Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko has been embroiled in the crisis. He claimed to have negotiated a deal with Prigozhin after discussing the matter with Putin. Lukashenko's office stated that the proposed settlement included security guarantees for the Wagner troops, but offered no specific details.

More to read:
Russian generals created Wagner-2 to derail government funds meant for mercenaries

As the Wagner forces retreated towards Ukraine, where their field camps were located, Moscow breathed a cautious sigh of relief. The city had braced itself for an imminent clash, with checkpoints and armored vehicles lining the southern edge and Red Square under lockdown. The mayor even urged motorists to avoid certain roads in anticipation of the confrontation.

Yevgeny Prigozhin and his field commanders have repeatedly criticized the Russian military leadership for incompetence and deliberate sabotage of Wagner operations. Prigozhin, who asked Moscow to upgrade the status of his fighters to that of the regular army, admitted in interviews that he might have political ambitions.

Earlier this week, the Wagner took control of the city of Rostov-on-Don near the Ukrainian border as strategists in Moscow announced plans to dismantle this private force.