After coming within 120 miles of Moscow, war criminals Putin and Prigozhin cut a deal to end the brief but catastrophic (for Putin) insurrection by the mercenary Wagner Group:
In an audio message, Prigozhin ordered his fighters to turn around and return to their bases in order to avoid bloodshed. He said his fighters had advanced within 124 miles of Moscow in the last 24 hours. A statement by the Belarusian government claimed that President Alexander Lukashenko, in agreement with Putin, held talks with Prigozhin and that the Wagner boss accepted a proposal to halt his march to Moscow.
“In this time, we did not spill a single drop of our fighters’ blood,” Prigozhin said. “Now the moment has come when blood could be spilled. Understanding the responsibility that Russian blood will be spilled on one side, we are turning our columns around and going back to field camps as planned.”
Here's a map showing events that transpired in the last 24 hours or so (click to enlarge):
This has been an unmitigated disaster for Putin, whose regime has been shown to be weak and riddled with potential rivals for power. The lack of resistance to the Wagner Group's march toward Moscow, and the lack of popular support for Putin in the seized cities bodes ill for the war criminal. Other authoritarian states that have cozied up to Putin (China, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Hungary, etc.) need to think twice about hitching their wagon to his unstable regime.
For Prigozhin, while he received "amnesty" for mounting the insurrection, given Putin's long memory and history of liquidating his enemies, he would be advised to stay away from windows in high rise buildings. He'll be spending his days in Putin pal Alexander Lukashenko's Belarus. Sleep tight!
The fate of his militia of misfits, the Wagner Group, remains unclear, although Putin can hardly afford to lose the most effective fighters against Ukraine. For now, they've been sent back to their bases and "guaranteed" not to be prosecuted for the rebellion. That and a ruble will buy you a bucket of borscht.
For Ukraine, the invader has been shown to be in disarray and even weaker than its battlefield performance has shown it to be. Coming when their offensive is underway, it can only strengthen Ukraine's strategic posture, knowing that their low- morale enemy is divided and unsure who is friend and who is foe. Not a bad outcome so far. But there may be more developments in the next days and weeks.
