"Wagner is finished": Ukrainian General Syrskyi says that story of Prigozhin’s PMC is done 

Oleksandr Syrskyi said this in an interview with ABC.

According to the commander of the Ground Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the consequences of the failed mutiny will not affect the military operations in any way.

"The events in Russia itself had no impact on fighting in the area of responsibility of my group of troops. It would be better for us if there were some negative consequences in Russia itself. But it doesn't matter to me. I think the history of Wagner is closed,” Syrskyi said.

The colonel general also shared the comment on his Telegram channel.

"Wagner is finished. Now ABC knows about it," he wrote. 

Prigozhin’s mutiny in Russia 

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 June 24, Wagner’s fighters took control of Rostov-on-Don, where they initially gathered around the headquarters of the Southern Military District, and then entered the city 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.

Prigozhin stated that the Wagner group stopped and turned back to their field camps before reaching a distance of 200 km from Moscow. “In one day, we traveled less than 200 km from Moscow without any bloodshed. But now, the time has come when blood might be spilled. We understand the serious responsibility that Russian blood may be shed. As a result, we are changing our course and heading back towards 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.

On the same day, Putin gave a speech in which he offered the Wagner PMC fighters three options for future actions. 

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 the mercenaries "did not want to shed much blood."

On June 27, the Federal Security Service of Russia announced that it dropped the criminal case related to the armed plot, in which Wagner PMC leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was involved. The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that Wagner mercenaries would hand over heavy equipment to the regular Russian army.

On the same day, the self-proclaimed President of Belarus confirmed the arrival of Yevgeny Prigozhin in the country. According to him, the Wagner mercenaries who arrived with him would not guard the Russian tactical nuclear weapons stationed there.

The US alleges that Sergei Surovikin, the deputy commander of the Russian occupying forces, had prior knowledge of Yevgeny Prigozhin's plans to incite a mutiny in Russia. The Kremlin responded by dismissing the statement and saying that it was just "speculation."

On June 29, the FT wrote that the commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces and deputy commander of Russian troops in Ukraine, General Sergei Surovikin, could have been arrested following Prigozhin's failed coup. Russia and Surovikin’s daughter both denied the reports.

In an interview with the Washington Post on June 30, Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said that due to the presence of Wagner PMC in Belarus, Ukraine may have to consider a new threat to its northern border and take appropriate measures.