The leader of the mercenaries engaged in a rebellion against Putin has said that his forces have agreed to stand down after they were reportedly told that they would be moved out of Russia and Ukraine.
The Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny V. Prigozhin announced that his troops marching toward Moscow would turn around shortly after the leader of Belarus said he was in talks with Mr. Prigozhin on a deal to “de-escalate tensions.”
The negotiations between Mr. Prigozhin and President Aleksandr G. Lukashenko of Belarus opened the possibility that the rapidly evolving security crisis embroiling the Russian government could be resolved without armed fighting. But Mr. Prigozhin did not immediately say whether his forces were leaving the southern city of Rostov-on-Don, where his forces had he has seized critical military and civilian buildings.
The ‘truce’ reportedly includes:
These Negotiations are also reported to have included a “Stipulation” that the Majority of Wagner PMC Forces will be Redeployed out of Russia and Ukraine to Africa.
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) June 24, 2023
No one should ever believe any assurances given to them by Putin, because Russia is a serial violator of agreements, and there could be many other shoes to drop in the immediate future.
Having Wagner’s brutal mercenaries in Africa is bad news for the people there, but from a Ukraine perspective, getting Wagner out of Ukraine is nothing but a plus.
The Wagner forces were better fighters against the Ukrainians than the Russians, and if the mercenaries do leave, it would be another blow to Russia.
The last 24 hours have revealed that Biden’s Ukraine strategy is working. Russia is in crisis over the war in Ukraine. Putin is losing both at home and abroad.
There is nothing good in the last 24 hours for Putin. The fact that these events happened is bad for Russian authoritarian.
This story is far from over. Putin has never looked weaker. The last day has exposed him to the world, the West and Ukraine should feel like they have momentum, as internal tensions are nothing new in Russia, but the endgame could be beginning for the regime of Vladimir Putin.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association