Wagner troops withdraw from southern Russia as Vladimir Putin weakens due to rebellion

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Russian warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin and his troops were on their way back from southern Russia on Sunday after reaching an agreement with Moscow to end their armed insurgency in the biggest crisis of Vladimir Putin’s presidency.

Prizoghin himself maintained a rare silence on Saturday evening after calling for an end to his rebellion, although the Kremlin said he would travel to Belarus after the country’s leader, Alexander Lukashenko, agreed to end the rebellion.

Prigozhin’s press office told Russian broadcaster RTVI on Sunday afternoon that Sardar “says hello to everyone and will answer questions when he has good (cell phone) reception”. He left the city of Rostov-on-Don on Saturday evening, according to video footage released by Russian state news agency RIA, with crowds cheering for the leader of the Wagner group.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday that the rebellion showed “real cracks” in Putin’s authority. “It raises serious questions. , , We know Putin has a lot to answer for in the weeks and months ahead,” Blinken said.

Blinken called Crisis an “opening story”, and added: “I think we’re in the middle of a moving picture. We haven’t seen the last act.”

Officials in southern Russia said that Wagner’s forces were retreating from the area. The governor of the Voronezh province, Alexander Gusev, wrote on his official Telegram channel at around 11 a.m. local time that “movement. , , Wagner units are about to expire through the Voronezh region. It is proceeding normally and without incident.”

Video footage posted elsewhere on Telegram appeared to confirm this, showing several military vehicles bearing Wagner’s flag moving from the northern suburbs of the city of Voronezh towards Rostov-on-Don at dawn, which took place on Saturday. Reversing the route taken from Ukraine.

Around 1 p.m., officials from the Lipetsk region said that Wagner troops had also left the area, closer to Moscow.

Chechen special forces also began their withdrawal from Rostov towards the Ukrainian border on Sunday, according to the official broadcaster of the Chechen Republic. These fighters did not reach the city center of Rostov, where Wagner’s forces were located, and did not engage in any hostilities with other militias. Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov described their actions as “extremely skillful and well thought out”.

The Washington-based think-tank Institute for the Study of War said on Sunday that the Kremlin “struggled to mount an effective prompt response to Wagner’s advances, possibly due to surprise and the overwhelming impact of losses in Ukraine”.

“Wagner probably could have reached the outskirts of Moscow if Prigozhin had ordered him to do so,” the group said, adding that these incidents would “significantly damage Putin’s government and the Russian war effort in Ukraine”. .

Russia’s defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, and its chief of general staff, Valery Gerasimov, both also remained silent on Sunday. The pair had been targets of Prigozhin in the months before the coup attempt, as warlords claimed they had withheld ammunition from his fighters in Ukraine, where they have been the main part of the invasion force.

Wagner, the largest of several private militias fighting in Ukraine, recruited thousands of convicts from Russian prisons. The Kremlin said on Saturday, as Wagner troops began withdrawing from Russia, that it would not prosecute those who took part in the uprising, while those who did not would be offered contracts with Russia’s Defense Ministry.

Blinken said Washington was prepared for “every contingency”, but added: “We haven’t seen any change in Russia’s nuclear stance. There hasn’t been a change in ours. But it’s something we’ll look at very carefully.” ”

He said State Department officials had “some engagement with the Russians over the weekend” but declined to answer whether US President Joe Biden or CIA chief Bill Burns had sought contact with their Russian counterparts .

Get free Russia updates

we will send you one myFT Daily Digest Latest Email Rounding Russia News every morning.

Russian warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin and his troops were on their way back from southern Russia on Sunday after reaching an agreement with Moscow to end their armed insurgency in the biggest crisis of Vladimir Putin’s presidency.

Prizoghin himself maintained a rare silence on Saturday evening after calling for an end to his rebellion, although the Kremlin said he would travel to Belarus after the country’s leader, Alexander Lukashenko, agreed to end the rebellion.

Prigozhin’s press office told Russian broadcaster RTVI on Sunday afternoon that Sardar “says hello to everyone and will answer questions when he has good (cell phone) reception”. He left the city of Rostov-on-Don on Saturday evening, according to video footage released by Russian state news agency RIA, with crowds cheering for the leader of the Wagner group.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday that the rebellion showed “real cracks” in Putin’s authority. “It raises serious questions. , , We know Putin has a lot to answer for in the weeks and months ahead,” Blinken said.

Blinken called Crisis an “opening story”, and added: “I think we’re in the middle of a moving picture. We haven’t seen the last act.”

Officials in southern Russia said that Wagner’s forces were retreating from the area. The governor of the Voronezh province, Alexander Gusev, wrote on his official Telegram channel at around 11 a.m. local time that “movement. , , Wagner units are about to expire through the Voronezh region. It is proceeding normally and without incident.”

Video footage posted elsewhere on Telegram appeared to confirm this, showing several military vehicles bearing Wagner’s flag moving from the northern suburbs of the city of Voronezh towards Rostov-on-Don at dawn, which took place on Saturday. Reversing the route taken from Ukraine.

Around 1 p.m., officials from the Lipetsk region said that Wagner troops had also left the area, closer to Moscow.

Chechen special forces also began their withdrawal from Rostov towards the Ukrainian border on Sunday, according to the official broadcaster of the Chechen Republic. These fighters did not reach the city center of Rostov, where Wagner’s forces were located, and did not engage in any hostilities with other militias. Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov described their actions as “extremely skillful and well thought out”.

The Washington-based think-tank Institute for the Study of War said on Sunday that the Kremlin “struggled to mount an effective prompt response to Wagner’s advances, possibly due to surprise and the overwhelming impact of losses in Ukraine”.

“Wagner probably could have reached the outskirts of Moscow if Prigozhin had ordered him to do so,” the group said, adding that these incidents would “significantly damage Putin’s government and the Russian war effort in Ukraine”. .

Russia’s defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, and its chief of general staff, Valery Gerasimov, both also remained silent on Sunday. The pair had been targets of Prigozhin in the months before the coup attempt, as warlords claimed they had withheld ammunition from his fighters in Ukraine, where they have been the main part of the invasion force.

Wagner, the largest of several private militias fighting in Ukraine, recruited thousands of convicts from Russian prisons. The Kremlin said on Saturday, as Wagner troops began withdrawing from Russia, that it would not prosecute those who took part in the uprising, while those who did not would be offered contracts with Russia’s Defense Ministry.

Blinken said Washington was prepared for “every contingency”, but added: “We haven’t seen any change in Russia’s nuclear stance. There hasn’t been a change in ours. But it’s something we’ll look at very carefully.” ”

He said State Department officials had “some engagement with the Russians over the weekend” but declined to answer whether US President Joe Biden or CIA chief Bill Burns had sought contact with their Russian counterparts .