Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin has given a sensational order to his mercenary army this evening to halt their march on Moscow and retreat to their field camps in Ukraine.

‘We are turning our columns around and going back to field camps,’ an audio message on his Telegram feed said after a meeting between Prigozhin and Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko.

Prigozhin announced that while his men were just 200 kilometers (120 miles) from Moscow, he decided to turn them back to avoid ‘shedding Russian blood.’ 

In the shock announcement Prigozhin did not say whether the Kremlin has responded to his demand to oust Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and there was no immediate comment from the Kremlin.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that he had negotiated a deal to ‘de-escalate tensions’ with Prigozhin, but it is still not clear what the Wagner boss has been offered.

Prigozhin accepted Lukashenko’s offer to halt the Wagner group’s advance and further steps to de-escalate the tensions, Lukashenko’s office said, adding that the proposed settlement contains security guarantees for Wagner troops. It did not elaborate.

Wagner forces – many of whom are still said to be disgruntled about Prigozhin’s retreat – were this evening seen pulling out of the Rostov-on-don and the captured military headquarters in the city.

‘We left on June 23 for the march of justice,’ Prigozhin added in his audio messaged.

‘In a day we travelled, not reaching 200 km, to Moscow.

‘During this time, we have not shed a single drop of the blood of our fighters.

‘Now the moment has come when blood could be shed, therefore, realising all the responsibility for the fact that Russian blood will be shed on one of the sides, we turn our columns around and return in the opposite direction to the field camps, according to the plan.’

Residents Several authorities across Russia said they were lifting restrictions on residents following the now disbanded threat.

An uneasy calm has now prevailed on the streets of Moscow in a city that had been preparing for war. The capital had braced for the arrival of forces from the Wagner Group, a private army led by Prigozhin that has been fighting alongside regular Russian troops in Ukraine, by erecting checkpoints with armored vehicles and troops on the city’s southern edge. Red Square was shut down, and the mayor urged motorists to stay off some roads. 

Putin had earlier vowed harsh consequences for organizers of the armed uprising led by his onetime protege, who brought his forces out of Ukraine, seized a key military facility in southern Russia and advanced toward Moscow.

In a televised speech to the nation earlier, Putin called the rebellion a ‘betrayal’ and ‘treason.’

‘All those who prepared the rebellion will suffer inevitable punishment,’ Putin said. ‘The armed forces and other government agencies have received the necessary orders.’

It wasn’t immediately clear what concessions, if any, Putin may have made to persuade Prigozhin to halt his march.

If he accedes to Prigozhin’s demand to oust Shoigu, Prigozhin would emerge from the crisis as a clear winner in a major blow to Putin’s authority.

If Prigozhin agrees not to press the demand, Putin could award him with more lucrative government contracts like those on which he has built his fortune in the past.

However, it would be awkward and politically damaging for Putin to backtrack after branding Prigozhin a backstabbing traitor.

Some observers speculated that Prigozhin could make concessions such as putting the Wagner Group under federal authority, or he could shift the force’s activities back to Africa, where his mercenaries have been active in recent years.

Early Saturday, Prigozhin’s private army appeared to control the military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don, a city 660 miles (over 1,000 kilometers) south of Moscow that runs Russian operations in Ukraine, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said.

Wagner troops and equipment also were in Lipetsk province, about 360 kilometers (225 miles) south of Moscow, where authorities were ‘taking all necessary measures to ensure the safety of the population,’ said regional Gov. Igor Artamonov, via Telegram.

Authorities declared a ‘counterterrorist regime’ in Moscow and its surrounding region, enhancing security and restricting some movement. On the southern outskirts, troops erected checkpoints, arranged sandbags and set up machine guns. Crews dug up sections of highways to slow the march.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, an ally of President Vladimir Putin, had earlier declared that a ‘counter-terrorism regime’ was in force, before the leader of the Wagner private militia announced that his fighters would turn back to avoid bloodshed.

Yevgeny Prigozhin had said he wanted to oust the army’s top brass and ‘restore justice’, while Putin had promised to crush the mutiny.

One Moscow resident who gave his name as Nikolai – declining like others to give his surname – watched the military take up positions to protect the city.

‘It’s frightening of course – you sit at home thinking about what might happen,’ he told Reuters. ‘It’s disturbing, both for you and your loved ones.’

Some residents were finding it hard to grasp the scale of events.

‘… It’s really tough news, really unexpected. I’ve just come back from university. I’ve just done my last exam – and the news was really unexpected as I was prepping (for the exam) last night,’ said Vladimir, a student. ‘I don’t really know how to react. I haven’t really got my head around it yet.’

A woman called Galina said she thought what was happening was some kind of ‘provocation’.

‘It doesn’t frighten me at all,’ she said. ‘I have confidence in our president and our people.’

One man who declined to be named at all said he thought it was just politics playing out.

‘They might cancel a few events, and I make my living from events. I have an event going on now, so I could lose out because of this,’ he said.

‘But otherwise, it’s their business, it’s politics – let them get on with it.’

 

The United States said this evening that it intends to postpone the imposition of new sanctions against Wagner against the backdrop of the situation in Russia.

The US administration fears that by imposing new sanctions against Wagner, it may ‘take the side’ of the Russian leadership, the Wall Street Journal reported. ‘Washington doesn’t want to look like it’s on one side or the other in this [situation],’ the source quoted the WSJ as saying.

According to the newspaper, the US State Department planned on June 27 to impose new sanctions against PMC Wagner because of its activities in Africa.

The surprise reported development comes after a day of complete chaos in Moscow as the city was preparing for war by battening down the hatches as soldiers built outposts and military vehicles flooded the streets.

A total of 5,000 Wagner forces were reportedly advancing toward the capital before the U-turn, and were set to reach as far as Lipetsk this evening.

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is said to have a total of 25,000 men at his disposal and a further 5,000 of them were in Rostov-on-Don, the southern city key to Russia’s war in Ukraine that Prigozhin said he had taken control of.

As the convoy earlier inched towards Moscow it was said to be led by senior Wagner commander and neo-Nazi Dmitry Utkin. A source said Wagner’s plan for Moscow was to take up positions in a densely built-up area prior to its retreat.

A number of restrictions were introduced around the Russian capital following a decree from the governor amid the threat as people were told to refrain from travelling round Moscow.

It comes after Prigozhin initiated a military coup against the Kremlin leaders overnight, which saw the group take key cities and threaten the President, who called them ‘traitors’.

Putin earlier addressed the Russian people amid the Wagner group’s threat, warning that Prigozhin had ‘stabbed him in the back’. Moscow subsequently entered into a lockdown, with troops digging in in preparation to defend the city.

A spokesperson for the Russian president said Putin was still at work in the Kremlin and had not fled Moscow amid the earlier threat. However, two presidential jets were seen flying from Moscow in the direction of St Petersburg this afternoon. They were reported to have switched off its transponder to prevent tracking the route.

The shock announcement from Prigozhin comes after his feared 25,000-strong Wagner militia took control of the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don Saturday, saying they are ‘ready to die’ for their ‘march of justice’, and have been heading north in a hundreds-strong convoy of armoured vehicles.

The unit earlier passed through the halfway city of Voronezh and are soon approaching Lipetsk on their way to Moscow, seeing negligible resistance on their way. 

Before Prigozhin’s announcement, a message posted on the Wagner Telegram channel on Saturday said: ‘Putin made the wrong choice. All the worse for him. Soon we will have a new president.’

Footage on social media earlier showed large convoys of troops heading north from Voronezh, thought to be Wagner mercenaries. They were also said to be on their way to other key cities including Krasnodar and Volgograd.

Russia responded by increasing security in Moscow, mobilising troops who are set to defend against the incursion, and calling for the military to rally around President Putin. 

All public events had been cancelled and Monday had already been declared a non-working day, as Putin called close ally Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko to brief him on the situation. 

Moscow’s mayor had earlier urged people not to take trips across the city, saying the situation is ‘difficult’ and ‘city services are on high alert’. 

Sergey Sobyanin also told residents not to go to work on Monday in order to ‘minimise risks’. It came as part of the announcement of a ‘counter-terrorist operation’ in the city. 

Pro-Putin forces on the outskirts of the city were meanwhile seen digging in against the now disbanded Wagner coup heading towards the capital.

Russian troops were pictured establishing positions at a bridge across the Oka River. They deployed barrage equipment, machine guns and grenade launchers, as military helicopters flew across the city.

Other photos showed soldiers setting up barricades and machine gun nests a little way out of the city, as Putin signed into law a measure which allows people to be detained for up to 30 days in areas where marshal is imposed – not that this has yet happened. 

Russian officials had earlier ordered roads to be blocked by large, heavy trucks in the path of the convoy in an effort to slow it down.

Travel had also been restricted in regions closest to Moscow, most recently in the Kalugia area. Movement on the region’s roads will be restricted near bordering regions Tula, Bryansk, Oryol and Smolensk

Eyewitnesses also reported air strikes on the Wagner convoy heading north. 

Shortly after this emerged, Prigozhin claimed it was hit by Russian strikes and fire from helicopters. 

‘We were fired upon: first artillery strikes, and then from helicopters,’ Prigozhin said in a Telegram post. Video footage online purports to show an artillery strike on an armoured vehicle in the Wagner procession.

Pictures also showed the Wagner forces in the Lipetsk region – less than four hours to the outskirts of Moscow – before the surprise retreat.

The column of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s coup armed force is heading north for a showdown with troops still-loyal to dictator Vladimir Putin amid rumours he has absconded from the capital.

The Wagner forces were some 200 miles from Moscow – facing an evening or nighttime showdown with Russian regular forces.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirmed he had spoken to western allies about the armed rebellion led by the Wagner mercenary group in Russia, which UK defence officials have described as ‘the most significant challenge’ to the Kremlin in recent times.

Mr Sunak spoke to US president Joe Biden, French president Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday afternoon ‘to discuss the situation in Russia and reiterate their continuing support for Ukrainian sovereignty’, Downing Street said. 

A senior Kremlin official had warned that a successful rebellion by the Wagner group would mean the mercenaries getting hold of Russia’s vast nuclear arsenal and raise an existential threat to the entire world.

‘The history of mankind hasn’t yet seen the largest arsenal of nuclear weapons under control by bandits,’ Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy head of Russia’s Security Council chaired by President Vladimir Putin, said in remarks carried by Russian news agencies. ‘Such a crisis will not be limited by just one country’s borders, the world will be put on the brink of destruction.’

He added that ‘we won’t allow such a turn of events.’

Medvedev has frequently used hardline rhetoric since Russia sent troops into Ukraine, regularly reminding the West about Russia’s nuclear arsenal in a bid to discourage the U.S. and its allies from ramping up weapons supplies to Kyiv.

Medvedev described the rebellion as a ‘well-planned operation aimed at seizing power in the country.’ He claimed that some veterans of elite Russian military units and foreign actors could have been involved in it

Away from Russia, U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with the leaders of France, Germany and the United Kingdom on Saturday as the mutinous mercenaries barrelled towards Moscow

‘The leaders discussed the situation in Russia. They also affirmed their unwavering support for Ukraine,’ a readout said.

The leaders ‘affirmed their unwavering support for Ukraine,’ the White House statement added.

A White House spokesman also said Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were briefed by their national security team Saturday morning on the Russian crisis and will continue to be briefed throughout the day.

It comes after pro-Putin forces earlier today raided the Wagner unit’s HQ in St Petersburg, after Prigozhin captured the Southern Defense Command in Rostov-on-Don, which plays a major role in the invasion of Ukraine.

The Russian Security Service said it had found $47 million in cash on the premises, which Prigozhin claimed is for salaries and other expenses for his men.

Putin described the group’s actions as ‘equivalent to armed mutiny’, and urged those involved to cease any armed resistance.

Multiple reports claimed Putin had left Moscow on Saturday afternoon, despite officials denying it and saying he was working in the Kremlin.

A presidential plane linked to Vladimir Putin flew north from Moscow towards Tver before switching off its transponder, live flight data showed.

Other business jets were seen making an exodus from the capital towards St Petersburg, with senior backers of Putin allegedly fleeing to Turkey.

Prigozhin, who was once a confidant of Vladimir Putin before declaring war on Moscow’s military leadership last night, said in a video that the highest ranking officer at the command post had fled as soon as he learned that Wagner forces were approaching.

A Russian security source said Wagner fighters had also taken control of military facilities in the city of Voronezh, about 500 km (310 miles) south of Moscow. 

A huge oil depot was seen bursting into flames in the city, thought to be an attack on Wagner forces by the Russian military. 

This is significant as it marks the halfway point between Rostov and Moscow.

The governor of Russia’s Voronezh region said on Saturday that the army was taking ‘necessary military measures’ in the region as part of a counter-terrorist operation declared after an armed mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group. 

It is also being claimed that Wagner troops are on the outskirts of two other southern cities, Krasnodar and Volgograd – but this has not been verified. 

The Lipetsk region is so far the closest location to Moscow where Wagner columns have been spotted. 

‘Hardware of the Wagner mercenary group is moving across the territory of the Lipetsk region,’ Governor Igor Artamonov said on Telegram.

‘I remind you that residents are strongly recommended not to leave their houses or to make trips on any mode of transport.’

He did not say exactly where in the region the Wagner fighters were seen.

Prigozhin said he had 25,000 troops under his command and would punish Russian military boss Shoigu in an armed rebellion, urging the army not to offer resistance: ‘This is not a military coup, but a march of justice.’

Residents have been told to stay in their homes by government officials, but some were seen out observing what was happening, even live-streaming the action on their cell phones.

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By Ted Thornhill, Mailonline Travel Editor

Published: 08:09 EDT, 16 May 2023 | Updated: 08:09 EDT, 16 May 2023