During Wagner's mutiny, allies urged Ukraine not to strike inside Russia
The allies at various levels appealed to Ukrainian officials not to strike Russia during the mutiny of Wagner PMC founder Yevgeny Prigozhin
According to CNN, referring to one of the Western officials, allies were concerned that they together with Ukraine would be seen as assistants to Prigozhin and a threat to Russian sovereignty. Therefore, messages were conveyed to Ukraine through foreign ministers, their deputies, and ambassadors, urging them not to destabilize the situation.
"Ukrainians were being cautioned by allies not to provoke the situation. Make hay of opportunities on Ukrainian territory but don't get drawn into internal matters or strike at offensive military assets inside of Russia," stated the official.
Wagner’s mutiny in Russia and the case against Prigozhin
For several months, there has been a conflict between Yevgeny Prigozhin, the financier of Wagner PMC, and the Russian Ministry of Defense. However, the situation escalated quickly on the evening of June 23.
Allegedly, Russian troops launched a missile attack on the Wagner base. Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner PMC, announced a "march of justice" and stated that 25,000 mercenaries were heading to Moscow after the Russian leadership refused to hand over Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov.
On Saturday, June 24, in addition to Rostov-on-Don, where they initially gathered around the headquarters of the Southern Military District, the Wagner group also took control of Voronezh. Their convoys, which had diverted from the Ukrainian border, were moving towards Moscow. Military aircraft and artillery under Shoigu's control attempted to stop them. The units of Wagner PMC were last spotted in the Lipetsk region. In Moscow itself, defensive positions were established, trenches were dug, and all security forces were mobilized.
However, on the evening of June 24, the press service of the self-proclaimed President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, released a statement in which the head of the Wagner PMC stated that he was ready to stop the advance of his mercenaries' military convoys, which were already approaching Moscow, and to reach an agreement with the Kremlin. Prigozhin allegedly agreed on this during a conversation with Lukashenko.
Instead, Prigozhin announced that the Wagner group had stopped their advance and returned to their field camps before reaching 200 km from Moscow. He stated, "In a day, we covered a long distance, stopping only 200 km away from Moscow. During this time, no blood was shed. However, the moment may come when blood will be spilled. Therefore, taking full responsibility, we are turning our columns around and heading back to the field camps as planned."
Subsequently, Prigozhin and all his fighters left the headquarters of Russia's Southern Military District. Russian leader Vladimir Putin promised that Prigozhin would be able to go to Belarus, and Russia would close the criminal case against him.
The deal reached through Lukashenko's mediation is likely to eliminate the Prigozhin-led Wagner PMC in its current form, although some elements of the organization may continue to exist under the Russian Defense Ministry, according to the Institute for the Study of War.
On June 26, Russian media reported that the leader of PMC Wagner remained under investigation in the case of organizing a coup in Russia, despite the Kremlin's statements about closing the case.
On the same day, Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a speech in which he commented on the Prigozhin coup attempt and presented three options for the future actions of Wagner fighters.
Meanwhile, Meanwhile, Wagner leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said that the main goal of the mutiny was "to prevent the destruction of the Wagner PMC, not to overthrow the government" and called it a "march of justice." He also claimed that the offensive on Moscow had stopped because.
On June 27, it is likely that Prigozhin's plane landed at one of the Belarusian military airfields in Machulishchy.
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