Prigozhin may have been offered dismissal of Shoigu and Gerasimov, says SBU

Wagner Group mercenary's leader Yevgen Prigozhin may have been promised that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and other top military officials to be dismissed in exchange for ending his mutiny, Ukraine’s SBU security service said on June 25.

In return for halting his Wagnerite mercenaries march on Moscow, Prigozhin may have been offered the dismissal of not only Shoigu, but Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov and other military officers with whom he was in conflict, Ukrainian news outlet and NV sister publication Ukrainska Pravda reported, referring to sources in the SBU.

The Wagner mercenaries aren't likely to go to Belarus, the sources added.

Prigozhin's march on Moscow: What did he want?

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Prigozhin announced the beginning of an armed conflict with the Russian Defense Ministry on the evening of June 23, claiming that he wanted to “restore justice” in Russia.

He said that the Russian army struck the mercenaries' "rear camp." However, the conflict between Prigozhin and Shoigu had started months earlier.

For the past few months, the Wagner leader has been persistently demanding the resignation of the Russian defense minister, accusing him of poor management of the occupiers' troops and not supplying enough ammunition to Wagner forces.

The next day, the Wagnerites took control over the main military facilities in Rostov-on-Don and Voronezh. They also shot down seven Russian Air Force aircraft. Prigozhin demanded meetings with Russia’s top military leadership and threatened to “advance towards Moscow” in a video address shot in Rostov-on-Don.

Read also: Prigozhin vows to ‘end’ Shoigu, FSB charges Wagner with ‘inciting insurrection’ – updated

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, in turn, posted a video address saying that the Russian Armed Forces had ordered to eliminate those who led the coup.

The Wagnerites' convoys nevertheless moved towards Moscow in a "march for justice," as Progozhin called it.

The FSB charged Prigozhin with “inciting insurrection,” while the security forces were preparing to defend Moscow. Putin is believed to have fled the capital to his residence in Valdai, northwest of Moscow.

Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko held talks with Prigozhin as his mercenaries closed in on Moscow, the press-office of the self-proclaimed president of Belarus reported.

Read also: Russian providers blocked Google news amid Prigozhin armed ‘rebellion’

Prigozhin then agreed to halt his forces’ advance on the Russian capital.

Soon after, Prigozhin ordered the Wagner mercenaries to turn away from Moscow and go back to their combat positions.

The Kremlin pledged to drop all charges against Prigozhin, whose whereabouts are now unknown.

He is thought to have left for Belarus, in line with the deal he struck with the Kremlin.

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