E-Paper
Wagner Group Russia Coup Updates: Putin, Lukashenko hold another call after thwarted mutiny
Wagner Group Russia Coup Updates: Months of bitter feud led to Wagner Group chief rebel against Russia's military leadership. Check out updates here
Wagner Group Russia Coup updates: Wagner Group Chief Yevgeny Prigozhin and his heavily armed forces overnight pulled out of Rostov region, where they had taken over Russia's southern military headquarters. The move came after the Wagner group decided to halt approaching Moscow under a deal which defused the challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin....Read More
A deal was brokered by Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko which stated that the Wagner group, a private army of mercenaries that spearheaded much of Russia's offensive in Ukraine, would go back to the base in Ukraine in return for the guarantee of their safety and Prigozhin would move to Belarus.
Prigozhin had vowed to ‘go all the way’ on Saturday to topple the military leadership in Moscow after he accused the Russian military of launching a deadly strike on his troops. In an audio message, the 62-year-old mercenary leader said that his troops will ‘destroy everything that stands in our way’ and warned Russians against resisting his forces and called on to join him. “This is not a military coup, but a march of justice,” he added. The extraordinary development came as a result of Prigozhin's bitter feud with Moscow's military leadership over the months.
Western allies watching Russia closely
The EU, the US and allies are paying very close attention to Russia after this incredibly chaotic 24 hours.
The Pentagon issued a statement earlier, saying Secretary of Defense Lloyd J Austin had spoken in the past hours with defence ministers from Canada, France, Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom to discuss the situation.
"The United States will stay in close coordination with allies and partners as the situation continues to develop," the statement said.
Recap: ‘President Putin is deeply mistaken, we are patriots’: Wagner group head
Hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin slammed the Wagner group for their "armed rebellion" and vowed to punish those who were on the "path of treason", Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the mercenary group, said that the Russian President is "deeply mistaken" and the group is a patriot, the Washington Post reported.
He was referring to Putin's remarks alleging that the Wagner group betrayed Russia by "staging hostilities" inside the country.
Recap: Russia says Wagner Group's leader will move to Belarus after his rebellious march challenged Putin
The rebellious Russian mercenary commander who ordered his troops to march on Moscow before abruptly reversing course will move to neighboring Belarus and not face prosecution, the Kremlin said Saturday, as part of a deal to defuse a crisis that represented the most significant challenge to President Vladimir Putin in his more than two decades in power.
The charges against Yevgeny Prigozhin for mounting an armed rebellion will be dropped and the troops who joined him also will not be prosecuted, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced, and fighters from his Wagner Group who did not take part in the uprising will be offered contracts by the Defense Ministry.
US spies learned in mid-June Prigozhin was plotting Russia uprising
US spy agencies picked up intelligence in mid-June indicating that Prigozhin was planning armed action against the Russian defense establishment, reports Washington Post
Wagner opeartion unlikely to have direct effect on Ukraine battlefield, expert says
There likely were few, if any, Wagner troops on the front line of the war with Ukraine before the apparent rebellion, said Rob Lee, a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute’s Eurasia Program, cites Washington Post.
After the fight for Bakhmut, the troops had likely been relieved in late May or early June, he said, and did not control the front lines. Troops from the Russian Ministry of Defense did.
What deal with Prigozhin stopped Russia coup; Did Putin flee Moscow?
The military coup in Russia helmed by warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin came to a sudden halt after a deal was brokered between Moscow and the Wagner mercenary. Prigozhin will now leave for Belarus and all the charges against him and his fighters will be dropped. Read more
Russian motorway restrictions lifted
All restrictions previously imposed on highways in Russia have been lifted, the TASS news agency said early on Sunday, citing the Federal Road Agency.
Heavily armed Russian mercenaries who advanced most of the way to Moscow began turning back on Saturday, de-escalating a major challenge to President Vladimir Putin's grip on power, in a move their leader said would avoid bloodshed.
Russia censored internet news sources as rebellion rumors flew
Though monitors said the Russian internet as a whole remained broadly functional Saturday evening, Russian government news outlet Tass reported that searches for Wagner leader Yevgeniy Prigozhin on Yandex, Russia’s Google equivalent, yielded notices that some results were hidden in accordance with federal law.
One of the Wagner fighters opened fire in the sky during the withdrawal of the PMC from Rostov
All previously imposed restrictions on Russian highways have been lifted — TASS
All previously imposed restrictions on Russian highways have been lifted, news agency TASS reported.
"Expectations of a change of leadership in the Russian Ministry of Defense today": Reports
"Expectations of a change of leadership in the Russian Ministry of Defense today," news service Al Arabiya claims citing Russian sources.
Putin likely 'very scared' of mutiny and 'hiding': Zelensky
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that Russia's Vladimir Putin is likely "very scared" and hiding someplace as rebel mercenaries advance on Moscow.
"The man from the Kremlin is obviously very scared and is probably hiding somewhere," Zelensky said in his daily address to the nation, adding that Putin has "created this threat himself."
Kremlin says fighters to face no action
Heavily armed Russian mercenaries who advanced most of the way to Moscow halted their approach, de-escalating a major challenge to President Vladimir Putin's grip on power, in a move that their leader said would avoid bloodshed.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, a former Putin ally and founder of the Wagner army, said his men reached within 125 miles (200 km) of the capital on Saturday. Earlier, Moscow deployed soldiers in preparation for their arrival and told residents to stay indoors.
Recap: Timeline of how mercenary revolt has gathered pace in Russia
Mutinous Russian mercenary fighters barrelled towards Moscow on Saturday after seizing a southern city overnight, with Russia's military firing on them from the air but seemingly incapable of slowing their lightning advance. Read more
Prigozhin turns forces back in deal with Kremlin to drop charges
Wagner mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin halted his advance toward Moscow and pulled his fighters back, defusing what had become the biggest threat to Vladimir Putin’s grip on Russia in his almost quarter-century rule.
As part of a deal to end the uprising the Russian president had personally guaranteed that Prigozhin would be allowed to leave for neighboring Belarus and authorities would drop criminal mutiny charges against him and his fighters, according to the Kremlin.
Wagner Group's arms and ammunition
One thing that Surprised me about the “Wagner Coup” was the amount of Heavy Equipment they have which I and many other Account had no clue about such as at least 3 Pantsir-1 Air Defense Systems, 2 T-90Ss, and several dozen BMPs and BTRs; although I am wondering where their Air Asset were since we know they were given a number of Attack Helicopters and Fixed-Wing Aircraft by the Russian MoD, tweets OSINTdefender.
Revolts in Russia: Two other crises survived by the Kremlin
After the rebellion launched by the Russian mercenary group Wagner against Moscow, AFP looks back at the previous biggest threats survived by the Kremlin since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Read more
All restrictions on Russian highways lifted - TASS
All restrictions previously imposed on highways in Russia have been lifted, the TASS news agency said early on Sunday, citing the Federal Road Agency.
Heavily armed Russian mercenaries who advanced most of the way to Moscow began turning back on Saturday, de-escalating a major challenge to President Vladimir Putin's grip on power, in a move their leader said would avoid bloodshed.
Wagner forces leave Russia's Rostov-on-Don: regional governor
Fighters from the Wagner mercenary group have left the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don with their leader Yevegeny Prigozhin, the regional governor said early Sunday.
"A Wagner column left Rostov and headed to their field camps," governor Vasily Golubev said on Telegram. On Saturday they seized control of a key military base there.
Russian turmoil: Mercenary group mutiny follows two massive revolts
After the rebellion launched by the Russian mercenary group Wagner against Moscow, AFP looks back at the previous biggest threats survived by the Kremlin since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
Ukraine defense minister says Russian troops 'have been lied to and betrayed'
Ukrainian minister of defense Oleksii Reznikov warned Russian soldiers in Ukraine that they have been "betrayed" by their nation — and should pack up and abandon the war effort.
Reznikov urged Russian fighters to leave Ukraine because they "have been lied to and betrayed," he tweeted.
Deal with Wagner made to avoid 'bloodshed': Kremlin
The Kremlin said Saturday that it had agreed a deal with the mercenary group Wagner, which has openly challenged the Russian authorities, to avoid further bloodshed.
"Avoiding bloodshed, internal confrontation, and clashes with unpredictable results was the highest goal," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko's mediating efforts were aimed at achieving that goal.
Russian mercenary boss Prigozhin will move to Belarus under Wagner deal, Kremlin says
Wagner mercenary force chief Yevgeny Prigozhin will move to Belarus under a deal brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to end an armed mutiny that Prigozhin had led against Russia's military leadership, the Kremlin said on Saturday.
Russia decides against prosecuting members of Wagner force: Kremlin
Wagner troops won't face punishment for rebellion as criminal case against their chief is closed, Kremlin spokesman says.
Russian Wagner fighters start pulling out of Rostov-on-Don
Fighters of the mutinous Wagner mercenary force started pulling out of the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don on Saturday night.
