Wagner mercenaries halt advance as Vladimir Putin reportedly flees Moscow

Vladimir Putin slams ‘treason’ from Wagner group in Ukraine

With 10,000 mercenaries commanded by Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin just 120 miles away from Moscow on “a march for justice”, every flight out of the Russian capital was fully booked.

President Vladimir Putin was also reported to have fled to St Petersburg.

But Prigozhin halted the rapid advance of his army, which had troop carriers and at least one tank, saying he wanted to “avoid bloodshed”. Earlier, the 61-year-old had publicly denounced the war in Ukraine for being “based on a lie”.

With the Wagner army of private contractors and former prison inmates last night heading back to their bases, Putin’s grip on power was left at its weakest for decades.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said no one was in control and Russia was in “total chaos”.

It was not known last night if Prigozhin’s turnaround was the result of a promise of more power from Putin, or a pledge that a plan to incorporate the 50,000-strong private army into Russia’s conventional armed forces would be scrapped.

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“We don’t know why he stopped – it could be for as little as an assurance not to incorporate Wagner into Russian armed forces,” said Justin Crump of the Sibylline strategic risk group.

“Prigozhin has always advocated fighting the war more violently.

“If he has been given the green light to do this, it could spell bad news for Ukraine. But either way, his
about-face will have lost him a lot of trust among those soldiers who may have considered joining him.”

Russian expert Keir Giles added: “If he has taken a deal, I would expect him to either disappear or be promoted and given a great state honour, to show Russia and the world that he is now firmly in the fold.

“But it leaves Putin in a severely weakened position.

“It tells any rival they can challenge his authority and get something out of it.”

Such was the threat of his impending arrival that bridges leading to Moscow had been hastily dismantled while many of Putin’s cronies fled in private jets.

A number of restrictions were introduced following a decree from the governor, with all public events cancelled and Monday declared a non-working day.

Moscow’s mayor urged people not to take trips across the city, saying the situation is “difficult” and “city services are on high alert”.

Putin’s former ally launched his apparent mutiny on Friday, deciding not to publicly name the man he knows as “papa”, insisting his target was Russia’s military.

“Those who destroyed our lads, who destroyed the lives of many tens of thousands of Russian soldiers, will be punished. I ask that no one offer resistance,” said the renegade warlord.

“There are 25,000 of us and we are going to figure out why chaos is happening in the country,” he said, promising to destroy any checkpoints or air forces that tried to obstruct the convoy’s progress.

Security sources pointed to the fact that Prigozhin had posted his video on Telegram, the pro-Russian social media channel in which Putin propaganda had thrived.

“It was effective because, on Telegram, he is one of them, speaking in a language they can understand, and essentially telling them they had been fed a pack of lies.”

The Russian leader acknowledged his greatest political threat in 20 years by calling Prigozhin’s actions “a betrayal” and “a knife in the back of our people” as he mobilised forces around the capital.

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In a solemn televised address he sent a chilling message by evoking the “intrigues of 1917”, pledging to do “everything to protect the country” and calling for national unity as Russia “engaged in its heaviest struggle for its future”.

Wagner mercenary forces had already taken control of Russia’s Southern Military District headquarters in the city of Rostov-on-Don without firing a shot. Situated close to the Ukraine border, the city is crucial to Russia’s war effort as it serves as the main rear logistical hub for the invasion force.

The brigands had also taken control of military facilities in the city of Voronezh, further north on the road towards Moscow.

Russian forces offered some resistance, with reports helicopters opened fire on the armed Wagner column outside Voronezh, more than halfway to the Russian capital.

Putin’s TV address followed weeks of silence from the Kremlin as the warlord, who is partly funded by Russia’s GRU military intelligence service, became more outspoken, openly challenging defence minister Sergei Shoigu. But Putin’s message was too little too late, predicted experts.

“Putin’s defiant rhetoric promising to deal with this treachery firmly comes after weeks of silence over the growing confrontation between Prigozhin and Russia’s regular military,” said Mr Giles, author of Russia’s War on Everybody.

“Invoking what happened in 1917 may mean Putin realises he has left this too late, and allowed a real challenge to the stability of his power in Russia to develop.”

He said Prigozhin and his forces were in “no position to challenge Putin’s grip on power directly, even if they wanted to”.

He added: “A rapid collapse was always unlikely – Wagner would have needed a lot more support to change the power dynamic in Moscow. That said, this is Russia so we should be accustomed to six impossible things before breakfast.

“The intelligence agencies still back Putin, but things can change quickly.” Such is the body blow to Putin’s credibility that survival now may not mean survival for long.

Mr Giles continued: “Wagner has already shown the weakness of Putin’s grip.

“An armed force is roaming southern Russia and demanding recognition from the state authorities.

“That’s a long way from the unity of power Putin has worked so long to enforce.

“What we could see is a slow motion drift as Putin has less and less control.”

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