Rebel mercenaries end mutiny, withdraw from southern Russia

Heavily armed Russian mercenaries ended their mutiny and withdrew from the southern Russian city of Rostov overnight under a deal mediated by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

According to the agreement, fighters of the Wagner group returned to their bases in return for guarantees for their safety and the leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, will move to Belarus.

The aborted mutiny however raises big questions about Putin’s grip on a country he has ruled with an iron hand for more than two decades. Italy’s foreign minister said it had shattered the “myth” of Russian unity.

Putin has not made public comments since the deal was struck to de-escalate the crisis.

Western leaders had expressed concern over the turmoil in Russia, which has the world’s largest nuclear arsenal.

Prigozhin, a former Putin ally and former convict whose forces have fought the bloodiest battles of the 16-month war in Ukraine, said his decision to advance on Moscow was intended to remove corrupt and incompetent Russian commanders he blames for botching the war.

The show of support for Wagner’s short-lived insurrection will alarm authorities in a country that is increasingly intolerant of public criticism of Putin and his rule.

Moscow was calm on Sunday, with the Red Square closed but otherwise little evidence of increased security. Monday has been declared a non-working day to allow time for things to settle.

The capital had told residents to stay indoors and deployed soldiers in preparation for the arrival of the mercenaries, who appeared to meet little pushback from the regular armed forces.

Chechen special forces who deployed to the Rostov region to resist the mercenaries’ advance were also withdrawing back to where they had been fighting in Ukraine, commander Apty Alaudinov said in a video published on Telegram.

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Wagner, whose men in Ukraine include thousands of ex-prisoners recruited from Russian jails, has grown into a sprawling international business with mining interests and fighters in Africa and the Middle East.

This month, Prigozhin defied orders to sign a contract placing his troops under Defence Ministry command. He launched the rebellion on Friday after alleging that the military had killed some of his men in an air strike. The Defence Ministry denied this.

Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said in an interview with Italian newspaper Il Messaggero published on Sunday that Putin created the conditions for Saturday’s insurrection by allowing Prigozhin to build up such a formidable private army.

“The myth of the unity of Putin’s Russia is over. This internal escalation divides the Russian military deployment. It’s the inevitable outcome when you support and finance a legion of mercenaries,” Tajani said.

“One thing is certain: the Russian front is weaker than yesterday. I hope that peace will now be closer”.

The revolt came just weeks into the start of Ukraine’s strongest counteroffensive drive since Moscow’s invasion in February last year.