The head of the Wagner force said he has ordered his mercenaries to halt their march on Moscow and retreat to their field camps in Ukraine to avoid shedding Russian blood.
The private military company belongs to Yevgeny Prigozhin, a former close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Mr Prigozhin's announcement appeared to defuse a growing crisis as Moscow braced for the arrival of the private army led by the rebellious commander.
President Vladimir Putin had vowed he would face harsh consequences. Mr Prigozhin said that while his men are just 120 miles from Moscow, he decided to turn them back to avoid “shedding Russian blood”.
