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The leader of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has reportedly called off his troops’ march to Moscow and ordered them instead to return to Ukraine, citing the desire to avoid bloodshed as his main reason. Experts believe that Prigozhin stopped the march due to the unfavorable odds that his troops were facing if they were to reach Moscow.
This decision has come after Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko allegedly negotiated with Prigozhin and proposed a settlement that offered security guarantees for the Wagner Group’s troops. However, Council on Foreign Relations Senior Fellow Charles Kupchan believes that this situation will not have a significant impact on the situation in Ukraine.
Prigozhin had allegedly accused Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu of ordering a strike on the private military contractor’s field camps where the group is fighting on behalf of Russia in Ukraine.
Although Russia’s Defense Ministry denied allegations of carrying out the rocket attack; as a consequence, the National Anti-Terrorism Committee of the Federal Security Services has opened a criminal investigation on charges of calling for an armed rebellion. Prigozhin had said, “This is not a military coup, but a march of justice,” adding that the country’s military leadership had to be stopped and referring to them as “scum”.
“Clearly Prigozhin assessed that, you know, the odds were not in his favor if he carried on to Moscow, if he ever really intended to do that in the first place, I don’t know,” said former CIA station chief Dan Hoffman, implying that Prigozhin had always had his doubts about carrying out the march to Moscow in the first place. It is interesting to note that Belarusian President Lukashenko was also allegedly involved in this situation and negotiated with Prigozhin directly. The proposed settlement that Lukashenko had offered apparently included security guarantees for the Wagner Group’s troops, which had prompted Prigozhin to call off the march to Moscow.
Many experts believe that this situation will not have much of an impact on the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Council on Foreign Relations Senior Fellow Charles Kupchan said, “I don’t think it will have a big impact in the sense of affecting the lay of the land on the battlefield.” However, if a civil war had erupted and Putin had needed to withdraw resources from eastern Ukraine, then the situation would have been different. Despite the lack of a significant impact on the situation in Ukraine, Prigozhin’s decision to call off the march to Moscow and instead return his troops to Ukraine is making headlines around the world.
The accusations of ordering a rocket strike on the Wagner Group’s field camps in Ukraine are another escalating factor in this conflict. Prigozhin had accused Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu of being responsible for ordering the strike, and added that the military leadership in the country needed to be stopped. These allegations have led to the National Anti-Terrorism Committee opening a criminal investigation on charges of calling for an armed rebellion. However, Russia’s Defense Ministry has denied that it was responsible for the rocket attack in question.
Prigozhin had made the decision to call off the march to Moscow, believing that his troops would not stand a chance if they were to reach the capital. The allegations of a rocket strike on the Wagner Group’s field camps in Ukraine had added more fuel to the fire, with Prigozhin accusing Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu of being responsible for the attack. These allegations have led to a criminal investigation being opened on charges of calling for an armed rebellion, making the situation even more tense. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko played a role in this situation as well, negotiating with Prigozhin personally and offering security guarantees for the Wagner Group’s troops.
Former CIA station chief Dan Hoffman believes that there was never a chance for the march to Moscow in the first place, and that Prigozhin knew this all along. “Clearly Prigozhin assessed that, you know, the odds were not in his favor if he carried on to Moscow, if he ever really intended to do that in the first place, I don’t know,” he said. This assertion is further evidence that Prigozhin had likely hoped for a successful outcome to the march, but knew that it was unlikely to happen. Whatever the reason behind his decision, Prigozhin’s choice to call off the march has resulted in a significant amount of media attention.
The conflict in Ukraine has been ongoing, and this situation with the Wagner Group is just another aspect of that conflict. The accusations of a rocket strike on the group’s field camps have only added more fuel to the fire. Prigozhin had accused Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu of being responsible for the strike, and had ordered his troops to turn around, citing the desire to avoid bloodshed. The situation was allegedly resolved after Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko proposed a settlement that offered security guarantees for the Wagner Group’s troops. Despite the lack of a significant impact on the situation in Ukraine, Prigozhin’s decision to call off the march to Moscow and instead return his troops to Ukraine is making headlines around the world.
The allegations of a rocket strike on the Wagner Group’s field camps in Ukraine are certainly a concerning aspect of this situation. Prigozhin had accused Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu of ordering the strike, stating that the military leadership needed to be stopped. Although Russia’s Defense Ministry has denied the allegations, the National Anti-Terrorism Committee of the Federal Security Services has opened a criminal investigation on charges of calling for an armed rebellion. Despite these recent developments, many experts believe that this situation will not have a significant impact on the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko allegedly played a significant role in negotiating with Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin. After allegedly discussing this situation with Putin, Lukashenko had proposed a settlement that included security guarantees for the group’s troops. Prigozhin had believed that his troops would be at a disadvantage if they reached Moscow, and may have made the decision to avoid bloodshed due to this assessment. Although the situation with the Wagner Group may not have a significant impact on the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, it is certainly a concerning development.
The rocket strike on the Wagner Group’s field camps in Ukraine is just another concerning aspect of this ongoing conflict. Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin had accused Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu of being responsible for this strike, and had ordered his troops to turn around, citing the desire to avoid bloodshed. The National Anti-Terrorism Committee of the Federal Security Services has opened a criminal investigation on charges of calling for an armed rebellion, which has added more fuel to the fire. Despite this situation, Council on Foreign Relations Senior Fellow Charles Kupchan believes that it will have a minimal impact on the conflict in Ukraine.
Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin made the decision to call off his troops’ march to Moscow after assessing the unfavorable odds that they would face if they were to reach the capital. Although Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko had allegedly proposed a settlement that would have offered security guarantees for the group’s troops, the situation was ultimately resolved after Prigozhin ordered his troops to turn around and return to Ukraine, citing the desire to avoid bloodshed as his main reason for doing so. Despite the lack of a significant impact on the conflict in Ukraine, this situation with the Wagner Group is certainly concerning.
The ongoing conflict in Ukraine has taken a new turn with the allegations of a rocket strike on the Wagner Group’s field camps in Ukraine. Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin had accused Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu of being responsible for the strike and had ordered his troops to turn around in order to avoid bloodshed. The allegations have led to the National Anti-Terrorism Committee of the Federal Security Services opening a criminal investigation on charges of calling for an armed rebellion, adding more fuel to the fire. Despite these developments, many experts believe that this situation will not have a significant impact on the conflict in Ukraine.
“This is not a military coup, but a march of justice,” said Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, referring to the situation with alleged rocket strikes on the group’s field camps in Ukraine. Prigozhin had accused Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu of being responsible for the strike and had ordered his troops to turn around, citing the desire to avoid bloodshed. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko had allegedly offered a settlement that included security guarantees for the group’s troops, leading to Prigozhin’s decision to call off the march to Moscow.
Former CIA station chief Dan Hoffman believes that Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin had always known that the odds were against him if his troops were to reach Moscow. “Clearly Prigozhin assessed that, you know, the odds were not in his favor if he carried on to Moscow, if he ever really intended to do that in the first place, I don’t know,” Hoffman said. Despite Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s alleged involvement in negotiating with Prigozhin and proposing a settlement that would have offered security guarantees for the Wagner Group’s troops, Prigozhin had ultimately made the decision to call off the march to Moscow.
The accusations of a rocket strike on the Wagner Group’s field camps in Ukraine have only added more fuel to the fire of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin had accused Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu of being responsible for the strike and had ordered his troops to turn around in order to avoid bloodshed. Russia’s Defense Ministry has denied carrying out any rocket attack, while the National Anti-Terrorism Committee of the Federal Security Services has opened a criminal investigation on charges of calling for an armed rebellion.
The situation with the Wagner Group is certainly concerning, with the allegations of a rocket strike on the group’s field camps in Ukraine only adding more fuel to the fire. Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin had accused Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu of being responsible for the strike, and had ordered his troops to turn around in order to avoid bloodshed. Despite Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s alleged involvement in negotiating with Prigozhin and proposing a settlement that would have offered security guarantees for the group’s troops, Prigozhin had ultimately made the decision to call off the march to Moscow.
