MOSCOW - The rebel Wagner mercenary force threatened to march on Moscow on Saturday before announcing a stunning pull-back, as Kyiv seized on the chaos to launch new assaults against Russian positions in Ukraine.
The Wagner private army captured a key military headquarters in southern Russia, and sent a force north to threaten the capital, defying Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin's warning of civil war.
But amid Russia's most serious security crisis in decades, Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin delivered a surprise announcement later, saying his troops were turning back to avoid bloodshed in the Russian capital.
"We are turning our columns around and going back to field camps," Prigozhin announced after previously vowing to march on Moscow to topple the military leadership.
He said understood the importance of the moment and did not want to "spill Russian blood".
Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said he had negotiated a truce with Prigozhin "on stopping the movement of armed individuals from the Wagner group on Russian territory and further steps on de-escalating tensions".
Kyiv revelled in the chaos, as Putin's former mercenary ally Prigozhin turned his Wagner force away from the offensive against Ukraine and made threats to topple the chiefs of Russia's military.
"The man from the Kremlin is obviously very scared and is probably hiding somewhere," Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his daily address, adding that Putin has "created this threat himself".
Separately, Ukraine's deputy defence minister Ganna Malyar announced that Ukrainian forces had gained more ground in the eastern region of the Donbas, launching new counter-offensives in several areas.
Putin's spokesman insisted the Russian leader was still at work in the Kremlin and had not fled Moscow.
Counter-terror operation
Before Prigozhin's apparent de-escalation, Russian regular forces had launched what one regional governor called a "counter-terrorist operation" to halt the Wagner advance northwards up a main highway towards Moscow.
The governor of the Lipetsk region, whose capital is just 420km south of Moscow, said Wagner's private military force was "moving across" the territory and urged civilians not to leave their homes.
In the capital, the mayor urged Muscovites to stay indoors and declared Monday as a day off work.
"The situation is difficult. I ask you to refrain from travelling around the city as much as possible," Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said in a statement, warning of possible road closures.
Prigozhin said earlier on Saturday, his troops had taken control of the military command centre and airbase in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don, the nerve centre of Russia's offensive in Ukraine.
"We got to Rostov. Without a single shot we captured the HQ building," he said, claiming that local civilians had welcomed the operation and vowing to overthrow Russia's military command.
"Why does the country support us? Because we went on a march of justice," he said, claiming his men had not killed any soldiers despite having been hit with strikes from army "artillery and after that from helicopters".
Responding to the challenge in a televised address, Putin accused Prigozhin –whose private army provided shock troops for Moscow's offensive in Ukraine – of a "stab in the back" that posed a threat to Russia's very survival.
'Blow to Russia’
Putin said, as a citizen of Russia, he would do everything to defend the country, Sputnik reported
“This battle, when the fate of our nation is being decided upon, requires unity of all forces, unity, consolidation and responsibility, when everything that weakens us must be cast aside, any strife that our external enemies can and do exploit to undermine us from within,” Putin said in a televised address to the nation.
He called the developments “a stab in the back of our country and our people”.
“As president of Russia and commander-in-chief, as a citizen of Russia, I will do everything to defend the country, to protect the constitutional order, the lives, security and freedom of citizens,” he said in his address.
Putin said the armed forces and other state bodies had received the necessary orders, and additional anti-terrorist measures were being taken in Moscow, the Moscow region and a number of other regions.
“Decisive measures are also being taken to stabilise the situation in Rostov-on-Don. It remains complicated, with the work of civilian and military administrative bodies effectively blocked,” he said.
Putin said the name and glory of the Wagner Group fighters who fought in the special military operation and paid the ultimate sacrifice for the unity of the Russian world had been betrayed by those who had staged the rebellion.
“The heroes who liberated Soledar and Artyomovsk (Bakhmut), the cities and towns of Donbas, fought and gave their lives for Novorossiya, for the unity of the Russian world.
“Their name and glory have also been betrayed by those who are trying to organise a mutiny, pushing the country toward anarchy and fratricide, to defeat, and ultimately to capitulation,” he said.
“Extravagant ambitions and personal interests led to treason,” Putin said, referring to Prigozhin, who built his powerbase as a catering contractor to the Kremlin and now runs a private military force.
“All those who consciously stood on the path of betrayal, who prepared an armed rebellion, stood on the path of blackmail and terrorist methods, will suffer inevitable punishment, before the law and before our people,” Putin vowed.
The FSB security service urged Wagner fighters to detain Prigozhin.
Putin also demanded national unity, saying:
"Any internal turmoil is a deadly threat to our statehood and to us as a nation. This is a blow to Russia and to our people."
"All those who consciously stood on the path of betrayal, who prepared an armed rebellion, stood on the path of blackmail and terrorist methods, will suffer inevitable punishment, before the law and before our people," Putin vowed.
Another Putin ally, Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov, declared that he had dispatched his own units to help quash the Wagner rebellion, warning: "The rebellion must be put down, and if harsh measures are necessary, we are ready!"
Latvia announced that it was tightening security on its Russian border and would not admit refugees fleeing the chaos.
After Putin's speech accusing him of treason, Prigozhin launched a second broadside.
"On treason of the motherland: the president is deeply wrong. We are patriots of our motherland," Prigozhin said. "Nobody plans to turn themselves in at the request of the president, the FSB or anyone else."
Armed Wagner fighters deployed around administrative buildings in Rostov and tanks had been seen in the city centre.
As the insurrection force headed north through Voronezh and Lipetsk towards Moscow, the capital's mayor announced that "anti-terrorist" measures were being taken.
Critical facilities were "under reinforced protection", TASS reported, citing a law enforcement source.
While Prigozhin's outfit fought at the forefront of Russia's offensive in Ukraine, in recent months it has engaged in a bitter feud with Moscow's military leadership.
He has repeatedly blamed Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff, for his fighters' deaths.
World watches events unfold
Countries around the world were closely watching events unfolding in Russia, where a mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group posed the most serious challenge yet to President Vladimir Putin’s long rule. Here is what some governments said:
Czech Republic
Czech politicians used the mutiny as a moment to take a stab at the Russian leadership. “So we finally know what the Russians mean by a Special Operation,” said Czech Defence Minister Jana Cernochova. “After 16 months of the war in Ukraine, Russia is waging war on Russia. No surprise. It’s a tradition over there. Failed wars end up with the Tsar being executed, with chaos and with a civil war supervised by snoopers. Congratulations,” she said.
European Union
European Union chief Charles Michel tweeted that the bloc was “closely monitoring the situation in Russia as it unfolds. (It) is in touch with European leaders and G7 partners”.
Nato spokesperson Oana Lungescu said only the alliance was “monitoring the situation”.
Germany
The foreign ministry advised citizens to avoid Moscow and government buildings in the Russian capital, and in the cities of Belgorod, Kursk, Bryansk, Voronezh, Rostov-on-Don and Krasnodar.
Iran
Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said that the developments in Russia were the country’s internal affair, stressing that Tehran supported the rule of law in Russia amid the attempted armed mutiny by the head of the Wagner Group private military company Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Qatar
“The worsening situation in Russia and Ukraine will have negative repercussions on international peace and security, and on food and energy supplies, which were mainly affected by the Russian-Ukrainian crisis,” the Qatar foreign ministry said.
Türkiye
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Russian President Vladimir Putin during a phone call that nobody should take advantage of the situation around an armed mutiny by the Wagner Group private military company in Russia, the Turkish presidential office said yesterday. Türkiye is ready to help Moscow resolve the situation “in peace and tranquillity”, Erdogan stated.
Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the Wagner mutiny showed Russia was weak. “Russia’s weakness is obvious. Full-scale weakness. And the longer Russia keeps its troops and mercenaries on our land, the more chaos, pain, and problems it will have for itself later,” he said in a statement on social media.
Deputy Defence Minister Ganna Malyar said it provided a “window of opportunity” for Kyiv on the battlefield.
United Kingdom
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak urged “all parties to be responsible and to protect civilians”.
The UK Ministry of Defence said in an intelligence update that “this represents the most significant challenge to the Russian state in recent times”.
“Over the coming hours, the loyalty of Russia’s security forces, and especially the Russian National Guard, will be key to how the crisis plays out,” it said in a tweet.
United States
US President Joe Biden was briefed on the situation in Russia and Washington and “will be consulting with allies and partners on these developments”, National Security Council spokesperson Adam Hodge said.
The US-based Institute for the Study of War said the armed rebellion was “unlikely to succeed”.
Rostov-on-Don
Meanwhile, streets in the centre of the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don were being reopened to traffic on Saturday night as the Wagner mercenary fighters who had taken control of key facilities began to pull out, the Interfax news agency reported.
AFP and Sputnik