Breaking News: Wagner Chief Prigozhin calls off march to Moscow, easing tensions
The leader of the Wagner private mercenary troops, Yevgeny Prigozhin, says he has told his forces to immediately halt their procession to Mosow and return to their bases in Ukraine just hours after they took control of military installations in southern Russia and began heading to the capital to topple the country's military leadership, Radio Free Europe reports.
"We are turning our columns around and going back to field camps," Prigozhin said in an audio post on Telegram, adding that he did not want to "spill Russian blood."
The column of troops, Prigozhin said, was around 200 kilometers (120 miles) from Moscow when he made the decision.
He did not say whether he had spoken with the Kremlin or the Russian military before announcing the move.
