Wagner Chief Says He Will Pull Back Forces

“Yevgeny Prigozhin, the owner of the Wagner paramilitary group, said his forces would stop their march on Moscow and return to their camps to avoid bloodshed, as the Belarusian president, Aleksander Lukashenko, announced a deal to halt the armed confrontation threatening Russia,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

Associated Press: “The announcement from Yevgeny Prigozhin appeared to defuse a dramatically escalating crisis that represented the most significant challenge to President Vladimir Putin’s leadership in his more than two decades in power.”

“Moscow had braced for the arrival of a private army led by the rebellious mercenary commander by erecting checkpoints with armored vehicles and troops on its southern edge. Red Square was shut down, and the mayor urged motorists to stay off some roads.”