The Kremlin said it had dropped charges against Russian military leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, who had agreed to leave Russia for Belarus as part of an agreement to end the armed uprising.
Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Prigozhin's militias would not be prosecuted "for their actions on the front lines." He added that some of the Wagner fighters who "came to their senses" and did not participate in the uprising would sign a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense.
On Saturday evening, Prigogine announced that Wagner's mercenaries had abandoned an attempted mutiny hours before a possible attack on Moscow. It was Russia's first coup attempt in 30 years.
In an agreement brokered by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, Prigozhin said his convoy of troops, weapons and tanks would stop marching to Moscow and return to base after a 24-hour crisis. rice field. Meanwhile, the Kremlin was in a hurry to turn the capital into a battle fortress.. from rebels.
The time has come for the blood to flow. I understand all responsibility for the fact that Russian blood will be shed unilaterally," Prigozhin said in an audio note posted on social networks, adding: "We are escorting according to plan and returning to base camp.
Mr Peskov said Putin asked Mr Lukashenko to mediate in the hopes of avoiding further bloodshed, and said the Belarusian leader had known Mr Prigozhin for 20 years.
Mr Peskov described Saturday's uprising, in which Mr Wagner shot down several military helicopters, captured a major military headquarters and traveled most of the way from the Ukrainian border to Moscow, as "extremely difficult" and "tragic". It's full of events," he said. But, he said, "there were higher goals to avoid bloodshed and internal conflict."
Peskov said Putin would not comment further on the incident, adding that Russia's aggression against Ukraine would continue.
Prigozhin's loyal Wagner militia began to leave Rostov on Saturday night, according to the state-run TASS news agency. Videos posted online by state media and Wagner's social media channels showed the fighters thanking locals who cheered and shouted in support.
The governor of a Russian state en route to the Prigozhin uprising said authorities would begin lifting security restrictions.
The governor of the Lipetsk region, Igor Artamonov, said the region would "start lifting the restrictions imposed today" and reopen the closed federal highways. He said restoration work has already begun on the damaged roads.
We all defended the interests of our country with honor and dignity. The Lipetsk region will not disappoint the president and Russia, ”Artamonov wrote on social networks.
Earlier, Putin had promised to quell the uprising and accused Mr Wagner of "treason", the equivalent of a "deadly state".
The conflict has failed to achieve its goals, damaging the country's economy, claiming tens of thousands of lives and creating a dangerous patchwork of competing militias and security forces.
Prigogine has previously said that his Wagnerites no longer want to live "under conditions of corruption, lies and bureaucracy".
Lukashenka's news outlet said on Saturday that the Belarusian leader had "a full day" in negotiations with Prigozhin after an "agreement on joint measures" with Putin and "further clarification of the situation through his own channels". announced that they had reached an agreement.
The newspaper said Prigozhin had accepted (Lukashenko's) request to "stop the movement of Wagner militants within Russian territory and take other measures to defuse the situation."
"At this time, there is a fully acceptable and effective way to defuse the situation, ensuring the safety of Wagner," the press added.
Belarus said Putin thanked Mr Lukashenka. "The Russian president supported and thanked his Belarusian colleagues for their work," the message said.
Ukraine's Deputy Defense Minister Anna Maryar, meanwhile, appears to have seized the opportunity to strike back at Moscow's forces amid an escalating power struggle inside Russia after Kiev forces "launched simultaneous attacks on several fronts" on Saturday. said.
“Olkhovo-Vasilovka, Bakmut, Bogdanovka, Yakidnoye, Kryshevka, Kurdyumovka … Progress is being made in all directions,” Maryar said.
"The enemy is on the defensive, so it's tough."
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