The leader of the Wagner Group leaves Rostov for Belarus

The leader of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has left Russia for Belarus, where he is expected to stay after striking a deal with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

The agreement with Lukashenko provoked the retreat of the mercenary forces that were heading to the Russian capital, Moscow. He gave the command in a common voice on group networks. Hours later, Prigozhin and his troops are seen leaving the city of Rostov.

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After signing the agreement with Lukashenko, he got up Government of Russia She informs that she will not prosecute Prigogine in exchange for the mercenary leader leaving the country.

The Moscow representative said other members of the Wagner Group would not be persecuted because they take into account the efforts of the mercenary team, which served on the front lines during the war with Ukraine. It also reported that those who refused to participate in the rebellion would be able to sign contracts with the Russian Defense Ministry.

Peskov announced in his speech that the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin “Always Respectable Achievement” From the Wagner Collection.

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Understand the issue

On Friday (June 23), the Wagner Group began a rebellion against the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The leader of the mercenaries, Yevgeny Prigozhin, declared war on Russia’s top military leadership and accused Russian Defense Minister Sergei Choigu of bombing the group’s camp that was stationed in Before The war with Ukraine.

Immediately, the paramilitary group took control of the city of Rostov-on-Don, near the border with Ukraine, and promised to march on Moscow to remove from power the government it branded itself. “a liar, a corrupt and a bureaucrat”.

A few hours later, President Vladimir Putin classified the maneuver as a “stab in the back” He promised severe punishment to members of the Wagner Group. According to the Kremlin leader, the forces loyal to the country have already received the necessary orders to suppress the rebellion and said that decisive maneuvers will take place in the next few hours.

According to Prigozhin, the group included more than 25,000 soldiers.

In January 2023, the United States classified the Wagner Group as “Transnational criminal organization”. The statement was made by John Kirby, strategic communications coordinator at the National Security Council. According to him, there would be about 50,000 mercenaries on the battlefield, with 10,000 contractors and 40,000 Russian prisoners.

Founded in 2014 by Lieutenant Colonel Dmitry Utkin, the Wagner Group is the main mercenary company involved in military operations aligned with Putin’s interests. The faction gained notoriety that same year when it aided Russian-backed separatist forces in Crimea, Ukraine. In 2015, Yevgeny Prigozhin became the leader of the organization.

The Russian constitution prohibits mercenary groups from operating in the country, but there are loopholes in the legislation that allow these types of organizations to operate. Russian state-owned companies are allowed to own private armed security forces, allowing mercenaries to operate in a legal and regulated manner.

In this way, the Wagner Group acts as Putin’s private army, which can expand its area of ​​operations to other continents without directly involving the country’s official armed forces. The paramilitary has already operated in several countries in Africa, including Libya, Sudan, Mali and Madagascar. The group has also worked in Syria to help the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, an ally of Putin.

In response to Putin’s statement, Prigozhin spoke of the group’s involvement in the African continent and that they had maintained contact with the Russian government to intervene in those countries. “When we fought in Africa, they didn’t say we needed Africa and then left because they stole all the aid money”announced.

In connection with the current confrontation with Ukraine, the Wagner Group has emerged to fight on the front lines of the conflict’s main battles. The mercenaries were the main striking force of Russia in the city of Bakhmut, which witnessed the bloodiest battles of the war.