Head of Wagner paramilitary group, fighters leave Russian city: Official

By Dmitri Chirciu

MOSCOW (AA) – The head of the Wagner paramilitary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, along with his fighters, have left the southern Russian city of Rostov-Na-Donu, a local official said Sunday.

“A Wagner column left Rostov and headed to their field camps,” the Governor of Rostov oblast Vasily Golubev said on Telegram.

Images on social media showed Wagner leaving the building of the Russian Southern Military District Headquarters in Rostov-Na-Don and removing military equipment from the city.

Also, video footage showed Prigozhin leaving Rostov-Na-Don by car.

Wagner accused Russian forces of attacking its fighters Friday and the group subsequently crossed from Ukraine into the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don.

In response, the Federal Security Service in Russia initiated a criminal case against Wagner for "armed mutiny." Russian President Vladimir Putin labeled Wagner's uprising as an act of "treason."

Prigozhin said his fighters would proceed to Moscow, prompting the Kremlin to enhance security measures across various regions of the country.

He later claimed his fighters decided to turn back to avoid bloodshed when they were 200 kilometers (124 miles) from Moscow, while Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said he held talks with the Wagner head with Putin's accord, and Prigozhin accepted a de-escalation deal.