Wagner Leader Yevgeny Prigozhin Will Move To Belarus And All Criminal Charges Dropped – Kremlin

Russian mercenary group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin will move to Belarus and has criminal charges against him dropped, the Kremlin has said, after he pulled his fighters back from advancing on Moscow.

Prigozhin had earlier told his troops heading towards the Russian capital to turn back, saying he wants to avoid shedding Russian blood.

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In an audio message, Prigozhin said his fighters – part of the private mercenary Wagner Group – would return to their bases.

He said that while his men were just 120 miles from Moscow, he decided to turn them back to avoid “shedding Russian blood”.

Prigozhin had earlier vowed to “destroy anyone who stands in our way”.

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In his message, Prigozhin added: “In 24 hours we reached within 200km of Moscow. Over that time we didn’t shed a single drop of our men’s blood.

“Now though the time has come when blood might be shed. Therefore, mindful of the responsibility that Russian blood might be shed by one of the parties, we are turning our columns round and moving off in the opposite direction, to the field camps, according to plan.”

In a statement, the Kremlin said all criminal charges against Prigozhin will be dropped, and none of the Wagner Group fighters will be prosecuted.

It also said the mercenary leader will move to Belarus, but does not currently know his location.

“Avoiding bloodshed was more important than punishing people,” it added.

Earlier, the Russian president accused the leader of the Wagner group of treason and leading an “armed mutiny”.

Photo Credit: Getty