Russian authorities have dropped a criminal investigation of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner Group mercenary army who led his forces on an aborted march on Moscow over the weekend.
Mr. Prigozhin, a restaurant owner turned oligarch who had been a close confidant of President Vladimir Putin, will go to Belarus. Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said he negotiated the deal that ended the Wagner Group rebellion.
“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 said, according to the official Russian news agency RIA Novosti.
The Wagner Group soldiers who joined Mr. Prigozhin also won’t be prosecuted in light of their past accomplishments on the battlefield. Those who didn’t take part in the march on Moscow will be allowed to sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense, Mr. Peskov said. Russian officials insist the brief rebellion led by one of the country’s most noteworthy commanders in the field will not affect the course of their operations in Ukraine.
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