Wagner founder to leave for Belarus as Russia promises to drop criminal charges

The criminal case against Prigozhin will be dropped and he will leave for Belarus, Russian President Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov said, TASS reported. The presidential press secretary does not know what Prigozhin will do in Belarus. Russia's authorities will not prosecute Wagner fighters who participated in the armed rebellion, "given their military merits. Putin's secretary also said that the militants from the Wagner private military company who took part in the uprising will not be prosecuted, and those who want to can sign a contract with the Russian Defense Ministry. After announcing a "march for justice" on the night of 24 June and seizing control of Rostov-on-Don, the headquarters of Russia's invasion army, Prigozhin was prosecuted for organizing an armed insurrection and faced up to 20 years in prison. In a televised address on Saturday morning, Vladimir Putin said that all those who had "chosen the path of blackmail and terrorist methods" would be punished. The press service of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko reported that the Belarusian leader had been in talks with Prigozhin all day on behalf of Putin. A few minutes after this news, the owner of the PMC announced that his mercenaries were returning to the field camps as they were only 200 km from Moscow. In the night, Prigozhin departed from Rostov, with bystanders cheering him on. The atmosphere in the city itself was described as "Wagnerfest" by the local TG channel Bloknot Rostov.

"Wagnerfest": the streets of Rostov-on-Don were filled with a joyous and celebratory atmosphere, writes the local TG channel Bloknot Rostov

🎥 Rostov residents say good bye to Wagner PMC armed insurrectionists, 21:44 24 June https://t.co/El0hGjjriH pic.twitter.com/6PicEedf5N — Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) June 25, 2023

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