Prigozhin, Wagner troops leave Rostov

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the chief of the Wagner mercenary group, has left the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don with his soldiers.

The group’s departure follows a deal brokered by Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko under which Prigozhin and his mercenary soldiers will avoid prosecution, and Prigozhin will go into exile in Belarus.

Wagner troops took control of the headquarters of Russia’s Southern Military District in Rostov on Saturday morning and began to advance towards Moscow in a move President Vladimir Putin described as a betrayal and an act of treason.