Moscow drops prison expenses in opposition to Wagner Group chief in main rebel

Russian authorities have dropped a prison investigation of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founding father of the Wagner Group mercenary military who led his forces on an aborted march on Moscow over the weekend.

Mr. Prigozhin, a restaurant proprietor turned oligarch who had been a detailed confidant of President Vladimir Putin, will go to Belarus. Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko stated he negotiated the deal that ended the Wagner Group rebel.

“The criminal case [against Mr. Prigozhin] will be dropped and he himself will leave for Belarus. If you ask what kind of guarantee that Prigozhin will be able to leave … this is the word of the president of Russia,” presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated, in line with the official Russian information company RIA Novosti.

The Wagner Group troopers who joined Mr. Prigozhin additionally gained’t be prosecuted in mild of their previous accomplishments on the battlefield. Those who didn’t participate within the march on Moscow will likely be allowed to signal contracts with the Ministry of Defense, Mr. Peskov stated.