Wagner Stops March on Moscow as Belarus Brokers Deal
The Wagner paramilitary group halted its march on Moscow on Saturday, after Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko brokered a deal between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the rebels, averting an armed confrontation that threatened to plunge the country into civil war.
Criminal charges against Wagner’s owner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, will be dropped and he will relocate to Belarus, Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Wagner soldiers who took part in the mutiny will be granted amnesty, while those who stayed in their barracks will be offered a contract with the defense ministry, he added.
Security forces in Moscow were seen dismantling barricades that had been hastily assembled as rebel troops neared the capital.
Lukashenko said he spent most of Saturday negotiating with Prigozhin and Putin, adding that all sides had agreed “that unleashing a bloodbath on the territory of Russia was unacceptable.” The deal offered to Prigozhin is “absolutely advantageous and acceptable,” and will involve security guarantees for Wagner, he added.
There were no further details, particularly about the fate of Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and the chief of Russia’s general staff, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, whose removal Prigozhin had demanded as he seized Rostov and sent his troops marching toward the capital. Peskov said the issue hasn’t been discussed with Lukashenko. Prigozhin himself didn’t make any statements about leaving Russia.
The tentative truce was the latest twist in a tumultuous day that raised serious questions about Putin’s hold on power and underscored growing tensions within the Russian establishment and armed forces.
It was less clear what the day’s fast-moving events meant for Prigozhin. The march on Moscow initially highlighted his formidable clout as leader of a motivated and well-armed paramilitary force, contrasting sharply with a Russian military largely demoralized after 16 months of fighting in Ukraine. But the end result raised questions about whether Prigozhin had miscalculated and whether he would be able to retain any power while in Belarus.
“Understanding all the responsibility that Russian blood may be spilled by one of the sides, we have turned around our columns and are returning to the field camps, according to plan,” Prigozhin said.
For Putin, who on Saturday morning accused Prigozhin of treason and ordered his military to crush Wagner’s “mutiny,” the deal brokered by Lukashenko represented a climbdown. It was caused, in part, by the fact that Russia’s security forces by and large didn’t resist as Wagner’s columns swiftly moved toward Moscow, coming to within 125 miles of the capital.
The specter of all-out war between rival Russian forces had grown during the day as columns of Wagner tanks, artillery and personnel carriers were spotted crossing the Voronezh and Lipetsk regions, coming closer and closer to Moscow. There were no major attempts to stop them on the M4 highway by Russian ground forces, though the column was occasionally attacked by Russian combat aircraft.
Video footage showed the main Voronezh fuel depot ablaze after an airstrike, the wreckage of several helicopters, and one warplane being shot out of the sky. Fighterbomber, a Russian military aviation Telegram channel that is well connected with the Russian Air Force, said Wagner on Saturday downed six Russian helicopters, including a Ka-52 gunship, and an IL-18 or IL-22 airborne command center plane. A total of 12 Air Force crew died, according to Fighterbomber.
President Biden spoke about the situation in Russia with President Emmanuel Macron of France, Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany and U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and affirmed their unwavering support for Ukraine, the White House said.
生词记录
paramilitary 准军事的，非法军事组织的
halt 完全停止，停住
broker 作为经纪人/中间人安排交易/协议等
rebel 叛逆，反叛
avert 避免；转移
plunge 骤降；陷入，经历
relocate 搬迁，迁移，重新安置
mutiny 反叛，兵变
grant 拨款，补助金；同意，准予，授予
amnesty 赦免，大赦
barracks 兵营，营房
contract 合同，契约；染重病；收缩，缩小
dismantle 拆除，逐步废除
barricade 路障；把···堵在
hastily 匆忙地，急速地，慌忙地
assemble 聚集；组装，装配
unleash 解放，释放，发泄，爆发
tentative 暂时的
truce 休战，停战协定
tumultuous 动荡的，狂暴的；喧嚣的，热烈的
underscore 强调，突出显示
formidable 可怕的，令人敬畏的
clout 权势，影响力
demoralized 垂头丧气的
climbdown 认错，让步
specter 对于···的恐惧
artillery 大炮，炮兵
depot 车库，仓库
ablaze 熊熊燃烧的，光彩夺目的
aviation 航空学，飞行术，航空工业
unwavering 从不动摇的
