24th June, 2023
Wagner paramilitary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin says he has halted the advance of his troops on the Russian capital Moscow and they are now turning around, according to a voice message published by his press service on Telegram.
His statement, according to Washington Post, appeared to signal a possible end to the crisis.
Prigozhin said his forces had gotten within 200 kilometres of Moscow, and now “we turn our columns around and leave in the opposite direction to the field camps according to the plan.”
Prigozhin on Saturday called his forces’ movement, which began after he called for Russians to join his campaign against President Vladimir Putin’s military leadership, a “march of justice.”
Wagner forces on Saturday had moved north from the Voronezh region to the Lipetsk region, which is roughly 250 miles from the Russian capital.
Putin, citing a threat to his nation, said he had ordered the military to quash the “rebellion” led by Prigozhin.
