By Leonard Kamugisha Akida,
MOSCOW
Russian government forces have reached a deal with tbe Wagner Group solidiers to end the revolt in capital Moscow.
On Friday, the Wagner Group under the command of Yevgeny Prigozhin, a rebellious mercenary started a march to invade Russian capital, Moscow accusing government forces under the command of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu of attacking Wagner camps and killing “a huge number of our comrades.”
By Saturday, the Wagner Group had been able to move unimpeded into the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and advance to just 200 kilometers (120 miles) from Moscow.
Several helicopters and a military communications plane were downed by Wagner troops who appeared to control the military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don, a city 660 miles (over 1,000 kilometers) south of Moscow, which runs Russian operations in Ukraine.
It should be recalled that the Wagner troops are alognside Putin in Ukraine war and have played a crucial role to capture the eastern city of Bakhmut, an area where the bloodiest and longest battles have taken place. However, there are soaring criticisms between government forces and the Prigozhin led troops. Prigozhin has increasingly criticized the military brass, accusing it of incompetence and of starving his troops of munitions and the in withering terms for Shoigu conduct of the 16-month-long war in Ukraine.
Prigozhin alleges that Gen. Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff, ordered the attacks of Wagner camps in Ukraine with rockets, helicopter gunships and artillery following a meeting with Shoigu in which they decided to destroy the military contractor thus prompting the group’s decision to invade Mosco.
However, on Saturday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced that they had reached a deal with the government and positioned tvat Prigozhin will go to neighboring Belarus, which has supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and drop charges against him of mounting an armed rebellion.
The government also said it would not prosecute Wagner fighters who took part, while those who did not join in were to be offered contracts by the Defense Ministry.
Shortly after signing the agreement, Prigozhin ordered his troops back to their field camps in Ukraine, where they have been fighting alongside Russian regular soldiers.
🇷🇺 Peskov's full statement on the situation with Wagner PMC
– Soldiers of PMC "Wagner" can sign a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense;
– There will be no persecution against the participants of the military rebellion;
– The initiator of negotiations with Prigozhin… pic.twitter.com/OOPTuIQpHw
— Zlatti71 (@Zlatti_71) June 25, 2023
A video from Rostov-on-Don posted on Russian messaging app channels showed people cheering Wagner troops as they departed. Prigozhin was riding in an SUV followed by a large truck, and people greeted him and some ran to shake his hand. The regional governor later said that all of the troops had left the city.
The agreement to end the revolt is a heartbreak for the Ukrainians who had hoped the Russian infighting would create opportunities for their army to take back territory seized by Russian forces.
“These events will have been of great comfort to the Ukrainian government and the military,” said Ben Barry, senior fellow for land warfare at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said late Saturday, shortly before Prigozhin announced his retreat, that the march exposed weakness in the Kremlin and “showed all Russian bandits, mercenaries, oligarchs” that it is easy to capture Russian cities “and, probably, arsenals.”
