Photo: Alexander Ermochenko/REUTERS/Deutsche Welle
The Ukrainian presidency considered, according to a message released on Saturday night, that the head of the Wagner group of Russian mercenaries, Yevgueni Prigozhin, humiliated the Kremlin and Vladimir Putin, and evidenced the erosion of the power of the Moscow leadership, despite his resignation. to advance on the capital after negotiating its withdrawal with Belarus.
“It was a phenomenal choice… You almost override Putin, take control of the central authorities, and then suddenly retire…because an intermediary with a dubious reputation (Alexander) Lukashenko promises you security guarantees,” Ukrainian presidential adviser Mikhailo Podoliak wrote ironically on his Twitter account.
The “Putin elite” lived in fear for 24 hours, continues the message of the president’s adviser Volodimir Zelenski, to finally assert that Prigozhin “humiliated” the Kremlin leader with this and demonstrated that he does not have the “monopoly of violence”. Podoliak’s message follows the crisis precipitated by the Wagner group’s takeover of the southern Russian city of Rostov and the subsequent advance of its fighters in the direction of Moscow.
Withdrawal without fees
In the afternoon of Saturday, the leader of the Wagner group himself announced his withdrawal, after the mediation of Lukashenko, and the return of its combatants to the permanent bases, arguing that this would prevent bloodshed. His columns were about 200 kilometers from Moscow, as far as they reached practically without facing resistance.
The crisis began the night before, when Prigozhin crossed with 25,000 men, he claimed, the Russian border to the Rostov region from Ukraine to move along on Saturday towards the capital. According to the Kremlin, part of the agreement reached is for Prigozhin to move to Belarus without charges against him, as well as for the “Wagnerites” who were part of his mutiny to be prosecuted.
Keep reading:
• Russia: 5 keys to understanding the challenge of the Wagner Group to Putin by sending its troops to Moscow
• Russia: the leader of the Wagner Group stops the advance of his troops towards Moscow and moves to Belarus, according to the Kremlin
• Putin under pressure: Were the actions of the Wagner Group in Russia a coup attempt?