Desk – Russia has avoided a possible bloodshed by striking a deal with the rebel leader of private military company Wagner that he would leave for Belarus and all charges against the mutineers would be dropped.

The Russian authorities strike the deal on Saturday after Evgeny Prigozhin, founder of Wagner, called for the rebellion on Friday citing that the Russian military shelled on his troops. The Wagner troops took control of a strategic city and planned for marching towards Moscow.

The world witnessed the dramatic unfolding of events that challenged President Vladimir Putin, who initially called the rebellion an act of treason and vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice.    

However, the Kremlin, on Saturday evening, announced that the crimical case against Wagner private military chief will be dropped and he will leave Russia, according to RT news site.        

Spokesman Dmitry Peskov revealed that Prigozhin, a Saint Petersburg tycoon who made his initial fortune in catering and then in military business, “will go to Belarus.”

The agreement believed to have come in the hells of a day-long negotiation brokered by Belarusian President Aleksander Lukashenko, a close ally of the Russian president Putin.

Peskov added that Wagner’s fighters will not be persecuted, taking into account their efforts on the frontlines of the Ukraine conflict. He explained that President Vladimir Putin’s team “have always respected their exploits.”

Wagner contractors who refused to take part in the mutiny – and whole units did not – will be allowed to sign contracts with the Russian Defense Ministry, Peskov stated.

Wagner launched a major mutiny in Russia overnight, seizing control of the Southern Military District headquarters in the city of Rostov-on-Don, as well as advancing towards Moscow.

The insurrection was stopped late on Saturday, following talks between Prigozhin and Lukashenko, with the Wagner leader agreeing to return his units to their “field camps.”

Earlier on Saturday, the authorities beefed up security across Moscow after the chief of the Wagner mercenary force has called for a rebellion against the Russian army.

The mercenary group, people of which are hired to fight for money and they are not part of an official military, is estimated to have around 25,000 soldiers, compared to an estimated 800,000 active soldiers in the Russian army.

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