Heavily armed Russian mercenaries who advanced most of the way to Moscow began turning back on Saturday, de-escalating a major challenge to President Vladimir Putin’s grip on power, in a move their leader said would avoid bloodshed.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, a former Putin ally and founder of the Wagner army, said his men reached within 200 kilometers (125 miles) of the capital. Earlier, Moscow deployed soldiers in preparation for their arrival and told residents to avoid going out.
The Wagner fighters captured the city of Rostov hundreds of kilometers to the south before racing in convoy through the country, transporting tanks and armored trucks and smashing through barricades set up to stop them, video showed.
