Wagner chief orders Russian mercenaries to halt mutiny march on Moscow and return to Ukraine

Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said he ordered his Wagner troops to halt their march on Moscow and retreat to field camps in Ukraine, appearing to defuse a dramatically escalating crisis

A rebellious mercenary commander said Saturday he ordered his troops to halt their march on Moscow and retreat to field camps in Ukraine, appearing to defuse a dramatically escalating crisis that represented the most significant challenge to President Vladimir Putin in his more than two decades in power.

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Moscow had braced for the arrival of forces from the Wagner Group, a private army led by Yevgeny 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.

But Mr. Prigozhin announced that while his men were just 200 km from Moscow, he decided to turn them back to avoid “shedding Russian blood.”

He did not say whether the Kremlin had responded to his demand to oust Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. There was no immediate comment from Mr. Putin's government.

The announcement followed a statement from the office of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko saying he had negotiated a deal with Mr. Prigozhin after discussing the issue with Mr. Putin. Mr. Prigozhin agreed to halt the advance in a proposed settlement including security guarantees for Wagner troops, Mr. Lukashenko's office said, without elaborating.

Mr. Putin had vowed harsh consequences for organisers 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.