Live updates: Kremlin says deal reached to end Wagner insurrection

People woke Sunday to a calmer Russia after an armed rebellion led by the bombastic Wagner chief was dramatically stalled.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, in one of the strongest challenges to President Vladimir Putin, vowed to retaliate against the Kremlin on Friday after accusing Russia’s military of attacking a Wagner camp and killing a “huge amount” of his men. His fighters then took control of a key military facility in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, with some then advancing toward Moscow.

As this was happening, in a tense address to the nation on Saturday, Putin warned that those on a “path of treason” or armed rebellion would be punished.

But the insurrection ended almost as rapidly as it began, after an apparent deal brokered by the Belarusian government.

Prigozhin stood down on Saturday, saying he was turning his forces around.

What do we know about this deal?

Prigozhin has agreed to leave Russia for Belarus, according to the Kremlin, in a deal apparently brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. However, his current whereabouts remain unclear.

Criminal charges against Prigozhin will also be dropped, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

But many questions remain about the deal, its details, and why it was agreed to by two strongmen leaders not known for a willingness to compromise.

What now for Wagner’s fighters?

Kremlin spokesman Peskov said Wagner fighters will not face legal action for taking part in the march toward Moscow, saying the Kremlin has “always respected their heroic deeds” on the front lines in Ukraine. 

But experts say that, as with the deal, many questions remain facing the fate of Wagner’s fighters following their short-lived uprising.