Wagner head says group standing down after claims of deal
By Helen Regan, Andrew Raine, Sophie Tanno, Hafsa Khalil, Tori B. Powell, Adrienne Vogt and Kaanita Iyer, CNN
Updated 10:43 p.m. ET, June 24, 2023
https://edition.cnn.com/europe/live-news/russia-ukraine-war-news-06-24-23/index.html?tab=Wagner%20Group
・Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin will go to Belarus and criminal charges against him will be dropped in a deal to end his insurrection, Moscow said.
The announcement caps a frenetic 36 hours in Russia but much remains uncertain.
・Prigozhin said he was turning his forces around from a march toward Moscow shortly after the Belarusian government said it had reached a deal with him to halt the advance.
・Only hours earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin had vowed to punish those behind the “armed uprising” after Wagner claimed control of military facilities in two Russian cities. Prigozhin had accused Russia's military leadership of striking a Wagner camp on Friday.
・In Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed Putin is “very afraid” following Wagner's actions, while a defense official said Ukrainian forces launched simultaneous counteroffensives in multiple directions.
Wagner chief Prigozhin halts march on Moscow: What happened? | DW News 2023/06/25 #Russia #Putin #Prigozhin
The head of the Wagner Mercenary group has called off an armed uprising in Russia. Yevgeny Prigozhin had directed his forces along a major highway towards Moscow, saying he wanted to oust Russia's military leadership. But in a post on the messaging service Telegram, Prigozhin has now said Wagner is pullings its troops back to avoid spilling Russian blood.
The city of Rostov-on-Don near the Russian border with Ukraine went through a turbulent day. Wagner's forces arrived there early on Saturday, securing control of key military positions. But after less than 24 hours, they could soon be leaving.
