Russian mercenary group Wagner PMC, have stopped their March to the capital of Russia, Moscow following a ceasefire agreement amidst negotiations.
According to Reuters, the leader of the group disclosed that they had agreed to turn back to avoid bloodshed, in a de-escalation of what had become a major challenge to President Vladimir Putin’s grip on power.
The leader of the group Yevgeny Prigozhin had led his band of mercenaries up till
200 km (125 miles) from the capital.
The rebels had captured the city of Rostov hundreds of miles to the south before racing across the country.
“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 200 km 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 development comes as a result of the involvement of the Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in brokering a ceasefire in return for guarantees for their safety, his office said.
President Putin is yet to react to the new situation.
