Good grief. In the “What the heck is going on now” column, Russian Wagner Army Leader Yevgeny Prigozhin now says he has ordered his columns marching on Moscow to “turn around.” No explanation as to what kind of deal has made, or why the about-face.
WAGNER Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin claims he has agreed end the chaos that bought Russia to the brink of civil war – even with his troops just 120 miles from Moscow.
Vladimir Putin is facing the biggest challenge to his iron fist rule since he rose to power in the aftermath of the collapsed Soviet Union and took control of the Kremlin more than two decades ago.
Wagner boss Prigozhin vowed to “punish” Russia after he blamed the Kremlin for a deadly missile attack on one of his training camps in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.
The warlord – a former pal of Putin’s – has led an armed rebellion with the stated aim to oust Russia’s military leaders as he turns on the top brass in Moscow.
Putin raged “this is treason” in an astonishing early morning TV address to the nation which showed he wasn’t backing down.
And fighting erupted, with Wagner forces seemingly taking control of a military HQ in Rostov-on-Don and seizing facilities further north in Voronezh.
The warlord vowed to march on Moscow – and a Wagner convoy seemingly heading towards the capital has come under attack from Putin loyalist helicopters.
But then in an astonishing turnaround with his forces some 120 miles from Moscow, Prigozhin claimed he was ready to back down.
In an audio message to his troops, he ordered them to return to their bases to “avoid bloodshed”.
“We’re turning around our convoys and going in the opposite direction,” he said in a voice message published by his Concord firm. . . . .
THE U.S. SUN