On the evening of June 24, Yevgeny Prigozhin said that Wagner’s mercenaries, who had stopped a few hundred kilometers from Moscow, were returning to the camps “according to plan”, after an armed uprising against the leadership of the Russian regular army. source Jellyfish it is said that the authorities have been negotiating with Prigozhin in one form or another since the evening of June 23, when he announced the start of the “march of justice”, but on Saturday the negotiations continued, and Prigozhin tried to contact Vladimir Putin, but he “did not want talk to him.”

• Who is the biggest loser in the Wagner uprising: Putin, Prigozhin or Shoigu

What a movie of the negotiations before the agreement announced by Alexander Lukashenko

According to a source close to the Kremlin, the authorities have been negotiating with Prigozhin in one form or another since the evening of June 23, when he announced the start of the “justice march”:

• “The military leadership, employees of the Presidential Administration, the leadership of the National Guard and close people tried to communicate with him. But his actions were such that it was not at all clear what to talk about”

Among the requests were the removal of Shoigu, the state not to interfere in Wagner’s affairs, but he asked for more funding.

The Kremlin hoped to resolve the situation “more or less peacefully”, but was unable to reach an agreement with the mercenary leader.

The Kremlin ordered Russian governors and politicians to publicly condemn Prigozhin’s actions and declare him a “traitor.”

At around 10 a.m. Moscow time, Putin himself made a statement to the press, accusing Prigozhin of “treason”, seemingly completely ruling out the possibility of a peaceful resolution of the situation.

Prigozhin replied: “No one will surrender at the demand of the president, the FSB or anyone else.”

By that time, Wagner’s mercenaries already controlled Rostov-on-Don; in the following hours, they advanced unhindered to Moscow.

Around noon on June 24, Prigozhin began trying to get in touch with the Kremlin – and allegedly tried to call Putin, but “the president did not want to talk to him.”

According to sources close to the Kremlin and the Russian government cited by Meduza, Prigozhin most likely realized that he had “overstepped” and that “the prospects for his convoys are unclear.” Because, despite Prigozhin’s statements that “half of the army” should join him, the mercenaries did not receive additional support.

Seeing the change in Prigozhin’s position, the Kremlin would decide not to engage in a “bloody confrontation”, Meduza sources believe.

The final negotiations were conducted by a large group of officials, which included, in particular, the head of the presidential administration, Anton Vaino, the secretary of the Russian Security Council, Mykola Patrushev, and the Russian ambassador to Belarus, Boris Gryzlov.

How did Oleksandr Lukashenko appear on the stage?

According to a source close to the Kremlin, Prigozhin insisted on the participation of “high officials” in the negotiations. Given Putin’s reluctance to talk to Wagner’s founder, negotiators didn’t have many options.

“Prigogin needed a worthy proxy to get out of the game [pentru a-și salva obrazul]. This was done by Lukashenko. He loves PR and understands the benefit – that’s why he agreed,” says a Meduza source.

In his opinion, the “benefit” for Lukashenka is obvious: publicly, he became a person who “saved Russia at most from a civil war and at a minimum from great bloodshed.”

According to “Meduza” sources, the parties will continue to “discuss” the details of the agreement regarding Prigozhin’s new position, but “he will have neither influence nor resources.”

At the same time, the sources did not rule out that a brief mutiny could lead to personnel changes in the leadership of the Ministry of Defense: “But not at Prigozhin’s request.”

At the same time, sources close to the Kremlin admit that the mutiny weakened Putin’s position.