The head of Wagner force said he has told his troops to stop their march on Moscow and instead withdraw to their field camps in Ukraine in a bid to avoid shedding Russian blood.
Yevgeny Prigozhin's announcement appeared to attempt to defuse a growing crisis as Moscow had apparently braced for the arrival of the rebellious commander's private army. President Vladimir Putin had vowed he would face harsh consequences.
Mr Prigozhin said while his men are just 120 miles from Moscow, he decided to turn them back to avoid “shedding Russian blood”. He did not say whether the Kremlin has responded to his demand to oust Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu.
