Yevgeniy Prigozhin, the head of Russia’s shadowy mercenary unit the Wagner Group, on Friday pulled his troops from the Ukrainian frontline to confront the Russian government. After apparently taking the southern city of on Rostov-on-Don, just across the border from Ukraine and a critical military outpost, Prigozhin and his troops sped toward Moscow, coming within 200 kilometers of the capitol city before abruptly agreeing to send his troops back to the frontline.
The chaotic, fast-moving events at first suggested a potential coup, with Prigozhin threatening a march on Moscow and insisting he aimed to rout out corruption in Russia’s leadership. But within 24 hours, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko had apparently brokered an agreement between Prigozhin and the government, and Prigozhin announced his plans to send his troops back to Ukraine, while he will live in apparent exile in Belarus.
“They wanted to disband the Wagner military company,” Prigozhin said Saturday. “We embarked on a march of justice on June 23. Now, the moment has come when blood could be spilled. Understanding responsibility [for the chance] that Russian blood will be spilled on one side, we are turning our columns around and going back to field camps as planned.”
Wagner mercenaries, many recruited from Russian penal colonies, have been a crucial part of Russia’s war effort in Ukraine, but in recent months, Prigozhin has lashed out against Russian military leadership for its poor planning and decision making, as well as what he saw as the lack of support for his troops. Prigozhin has had pointed conflict with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov about his group’s lack of ammunition, even threatening to leave the frontline in the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut in May if his demands weren’t met. On Friday, Prigozhin appeared to mount his most brazen and desperate attack yet on the defense apparatus and Russian leadership overall.
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