Report: Treason charges against Wagner leader not dropped despite ‘pardon’ by Russian govt

Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the private military contractor, Wagner Group, is still facing charges for his alleged attempted mutiny against President Vladimir Putin, Kommersant, a Russian newspaper, reports.

TASS, a Russian state-owned media, also confirmed the report on Monday, citing a source close to the prosecutor general’s office.

On Saturday, the Wagner leader and his troops were advancing towards Moscow, the Russian capital, after reportedly taking control of Rostov-on-Don, a city of more than a million people close to the border with Ukraine.

The private army, which had been fighting for Russia since the invasion of Ukraine, vowed to topple the country’s military which had allegedly killed scores of his fighters in an ambush attack.

Putin described the militia’s rebellion as a “stab in the back”, adding that measures taken by Russia to address the situation would be brutal.

The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) also opened a criminal case against Prigozhin, a former ally of Putin, for organising an armed mutiny.

However, less than 24 hours after the uprising began, Prigozhin ordered his fighters to stand down and return to base, citing the risk of bloodshed.

A few hours after his statement, the Russian government said criminal charges against the Wagner leader had been dropped in a move that would see him move to Belarus.

Dmitry Peskov, presidential spokesperson, said the conditions were part of a deal brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to end the rebellion led by Prigozhin against Russia’s military leadership.

Peskov also said the pardon would be extended to other soldiers in the Wagner Group adding that they would be enlisted in the Russian military.

But a source in the prosecutor general’s office told TASS on Monday that the investigation against the Wagner leader has not been closed.

“The criminal case against Prigozhin has not been closed. The investigation is continuing,” the source said, adding that too little time has passed to make a different decision.

WAGNER: WE DID NOT MARCH TO TOPPLE PUTIN

In an audio message on Monday, his first statement since his troops’ retreat, Prigozhin clarified that Wagner “didn’t march to overthrow Russia’s leadership”.

“The aim of the march was to avoid destruction of Wagner and to hold to account the officials who through their unprofessional actions have committed a massive number of errors” in the war with Ukraine.

He added that Wagner regrets “they had to hit Russian aviation” and they turned around “to avoid spilling the blood of Russian soldiers”.