Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin will be exiled to Belarus and face no charges for his group’s failed mutiny against Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin has said, after he gave a sensational order to his army to halt their march on Moscow and retreat.
Coup accusations against the mercenary chief have been dropped, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed tonight, adding that there will be no change of military leadership within Russia despite the humiliating crisis.
Prigozhin’s men will not be charged, Moscow said, while the fighters who did not participate in the uprising will sign contracts with the Ministry of Defence – in a clear attempt to remove the feared fighting force’s influence once and for all.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that he had negotiated a deal with Prigozhin, but it is still not clear what the Wagner boss has been offered.