Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak says the Kremlin has been “humiliated” by the Wagner Group The governor of Russia’s southern Rostov region says Wagner soldiers have left Prigozhin heading to Belarus, will not face criminal charges
This article was updated at 10:40 UTC/GMT
UK ex-general warns Wagner may attack Kyiv
A former British general has warned that Wagner fighters might use Belarus as the staging point for a fresh attack on Kyiv, if enough of themn follow leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Prigozhin has gone to Belarus as part of a deal brokered by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko and has been told he and his troops will not be prosecuted for their rebellion.
“The fact that he’s gone to Belarus is a matter of some concern,” former chief of general staff Richard Dannatt told Sky News.
Dannatt said it was still unclear how many of Prigozhin’s fighters would follow him to Russian-allied Belarus, which was used to launch Russia’s initial advance on Kyiv and Chernihiv in February last year. The company’s armed component is estimated at some 25,000 men.
If Prigozhin has “kept an effective fighting force around him then he presents a threat again to the Ukrainian flank closest to Kyiv,” Dannatt said.
Wagner forces quit Russia’s Voronezh region
Fighters from the Wagner Group private military company are leaving Russia’s Voronezh region — between Moscow and Rostov — after halting a rebellion against the military’s top brass.
Russia says the army was deployed and led “combat” operations in the region on Saturday, although little is known about what happened.
During the mutiny, there was a huge unexplained fire at an oil depot in the city.
“The movement of Wagner units through the Voronezh region is ending,” Voronezh governor Alexander Gusev said.
Gusev added that the exodus was running normally and without incidents, adding that travel restrictions imposed against the mutiny would be lifted once “the situation is finally resolved.”
He said authorities would tell residents about compensation for damage and thanked them for their “endurance, firmness and reason.”
The governor on Saturday called for people in Voronezh to stay at home and expressed support for President Vladimir Putin.
Rostov-on-Don calm after Prigozhin pulls out — report
Regular traffic activities resumed around the headquarters of Russia’s Southern Military District in Rostov-on-Don on Sunday after Yevgeny Prigozhin and his mercenaries left the city, RIA state news agency reported.
The agency posted a video, which it said was taken in the city of Rostov-on-Don, of a man sweeping a street and traffic moving along another one.
Prigozhin was seen retracting from the district military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don after halting a rebellion against the Kremlin.
Russian news sources said all transport restrictions in Rostov had been lifted on Sunday, including those on highways.
“Bus and railway stations are working in normal mode. Tickets are on sale, all destinations are on schedule,” said deputy minister of regional policy and mass communication Sergey Tyurin.
Highway restrictions imposed in Moscow and Tula
Taking note of the volatile situation caused by Yevgeny Prigozhin’s mutiny against the Kremlin, authorities have placed traffic restrictions on a key highway in Moscow and Tula regions.
The traffic curbs were imposed on the M-4 “Don” major expressway on Sunday, the Federal Road Agency said on the Telegram messaging app.
“According to earlier decisions made in the regions, the restriction of traffic along the M-4 ‘Don’ (highway) in the Tula and Moscow regions remains in place,” the agency said.
US spy agencies saw signs of Wagner revolt — US media
US spy agencies had predicted that Yevgeny Prigozhin was preparing to rise up against the Kremlin, the Washington Post and New York Times reported.
US intelligence officials conducted briefings at the White House, the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill a day before the unrest began.
The Washington Post said that spy agencies first began examining signs that Prigozhin was planning to move against the Russian military leadership in mid-June.
The New York Times said that the information was both solid and alarming by the middle of the week.
Germany’s Baerbock shortens South Africa visit over Wagner conflict
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has shortened a trip to South Africa due to the conflict which occurred between the Wagner mercenary group and the Kremlin.
Baerbock had been scheduled to head for Cape Town on Sunday afternoon, with the foreign minister also spending Monday there.
She will now attend a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg on Monday instead. Baerbock, however, is still expected to visit the South African city of Pretoria on Tuesday for talks.
Putin ‘humiliated’ by Wagner — Kyiv
Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has “humiliated” Russian President Vladimir Putin, said Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“You almost nullified Putin, took control of the central authorities, reached Moscow and suddenly … you retreat,” Podolyak said in a tweet, referring to Prigozhin.
He called Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who mediated a deal between Wagner and the Kremlin, a “very specific intermediary with a dubious reputation.”
Prigozhin's phenomenal choice… You almost nullified Putin, took control of the central authorities, reached Moscow and suddenly… you retreat. Because one very specific intermediary with a dubious reputation (#Lukashenko) promised security guarantees from the person (#Putin)…
— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) June 24, 2023
“Prigozhin humiliated Putin/the state and showed that there is no longer a monopoly on violence,” Podolyak declared.
Governor: Wagner soldiers quit Rostov-on-Don in mutiny U-turn
Wagner group fighters have left the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and are headed back to their field camps, the regional governor said.
News agencies cited witnesses as seeing tanks, cargo trucks and several minivans carrying fighters leave the city.
The private military group seized Rostov’s military headquarters earlier Saturday, from where the operations for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are run.
In a major challenge to Putin’s authorities, the heavily armed Wagner fighters took control of Rostov. Some of them advanced most of the way to Moscow in a rebellion against Russia’s military establishment.
Under a deal brokered by Belarus, Wagner fighters pulled out of Rostov in a move their leader said would avoid bloodshed and de-escalate the crisis.
What happened during the Wagner rebellion?
On Friday, Prigozhin claimed that his troops had been attacked by Russia’s army.
Prigozhin also criticized the rationale behind Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, saying Russian elites aimed to acquire “material assets” from the country.
Russian authorities then launched an investigation into Prigozhin for what they called a “mutiny.”
Prigozhin led his forces into Russia, taking control of the southern city of Rostov-on-Don and coming into conflict with Russian troops. The Wagner chief said the move was not a “military coup” but rather a “march for justice.”
Some of the Wagner members were heading toward Moscow, in a direct threat to Russia’s government.
On Saturday, the Kremlin announced that it had reached a deal with the mercenary group. The deal was mediated by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
Under the terms of the deal, Russia’s government would not move forward with criminal charges against Wagner members who participated in the rebellion. Prigozhin will also move to Belarus.
Prigozhin had on multiple occasions in the past criticized Russia’s military leadership for allegedly providing Wagner mercenaries in Ukraine with insufficient ammunition.
sdi/wd (AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa)