What is Wagner Group, and what’s happening in Russia?

MOSCOW – Amid the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, an armed rebellion by the private mercenary militia known as Wagner Group put President Vladimir Putin's government in a serious trouble.

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The Wagner Group led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a former ally of Putin, announced a rebellion against the Russian army and took control of the Rostov city close to the Ukraine border on Saturday.

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In some of his recorded messages now circulating on social media, Prigozhin said the Russian military bombed his men fighting in Ukraine. He called the Wagner Group's rebellion a "march for justice" and not a military coup. He said that Putin's Ukraine war was based on lies and accused the top leadership of the Russian military of mishandling the Ukraine war.

Hours after the Wagner Group started marching on Moscow, Putin addressed the nation and vowed to crush the armed mutiny and punish its planners.

In a late night development, mutinous Russian mercenaries agreed to turn back to avoid bloodshed. The fighters of the Wagner private army were just 200 kilometres from the capital, said the leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin.

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“They wanted to disband the Wagner military company. We embarked on a march of justice on June 23. In 24 hours we got to within 200km of Moscow. In this time we did not spill a single drop of our fighters’ blood,” Prigozhin said in an audio message.

“Now the moment has come when blood could be spilled. Understanding … that Russian blood will be spilled on one side, we are turning our columns around and going back to field camps as planned.”

The Wagner Group's decision to halt further movement across Russia was brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in return for guarantees for their safety, his office said. There was no immediate word on the deal from Putin.