Wagner Rebellion: Prigozhin's Forces Leave Russia, But Brief Mutiny Questions Putin's Strengths

Wagner forces left Russia after Yevgeny Prigozhin reached an agreement that included exile in Belarus and no charges for the mutiny he raised. The revolt has posed a big question about Putin's power.

Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Day after Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin called his fighters to stop the mutiny he began against the Russian military leadership; the forces were seen leaving on Sunday from Russia’s southern Voronezh region, reported AFP citing city Governor. Prigozhin has agreed to remain in exile in Belarus. As per the deal announced by Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, Prigozhin will go to neighbouring Belarus and charges of mounting an armed rebellion will be dropped, reported the news agency Associated Press.  

It also said that it would not prosecute fighters who took part in the rebellion while those who did not join in were to be offered contracts by the defence ministry. 

Prigozhin, who sent out a series of audio and video updates during his revolt, has so far remained silent since the Kremlin announced that the deal had been brokered for him to end his march and leave Russia, reported AP.  

It added that a video posted on Russian messaging app channels from Rostov-on-Don showed people cheering Wagner troops as they departed. Some even ran to shake hands with Prigozhin, who was riding in an SUV. The regional governor later said that all of the troops had left the city, the AP stated in its report. 

In allowing Prigozhin and his forces to go free, Peskov said, Putin’s “highest goal” was “to avoid bloodshed and internal confrontation with unpredictable results.” 

“Putin has been diminished for all time by this affair,” former US Ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst said on CNN, the report added. 

 Earlier on Saturday, Moscow braced for the arrival of the Wagner forces by erecting checkpoints with armored vehicles and troops on the city’s southern edge. About 3,000 Chechen soldiers were reportedly pulled from fighting in Ukraine and rushed there early Saturday, state television in Chechnya reported, as quoted by AP. 

Wagner troops were merely 200 kilometers (120 miles) away from Moscow, according to Prigozhin. But after the deal was struck, Prigozhin sounded a retreat to avoid ‘spilling Russian blood’.  

AP reported that a US-based think tank argued that Prigozhin’s rebellion “exposed severe weaknesses” in the Kremlin and the Ministry of Defense. 

The Institute for the Study of War said that the Kremlin struggled to put up a coherent response to the rebellion and that one reason was likely the impact of heavy Russian losses in Ukraine. 

The institute said, "Wagner likely could have reached the outskirts of Moscow if Prigozhin chose to order them to do so". 

Sunday morning witnessed some restrictions still in place along the main highway between Moscow and Rostov-on-Don though traffic restrictions were gradually being lifted in other places. Notably, Prigozhin had demanded the ouster of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, whom he has long criticised in withering terms for his conduct during the 16-month-long war in Ukraine. 

If Putin were to agree to Shoigu’s ouster, AP said, it could be politically damaging for the president after he branded Prigozhin a backstabbing traitor.