WAGNER coup leader Yevgeny Prigozhin fled to Belarus after striking a deal with Vladimir Putin to stand down his rebel forces just 120 miles from Moscow.

The mercenary boss left Russia as part of a deal to end his uprising with charges against him being dropped, the Kremlin annouced.

Yesterday Putin faced the biggest challenge to his iron fist rule since he rose to power in the aftermath of the collapsed Soviet Union and took control of the Kremlin more than two decades ago.

Wagner boss Prigozhin vowed to “punish” Russia after he blamed the Kremlin for a deadly missile attack on one of his training camps in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.

The warlord – a former pal of Putin’s – led an armed rebellion with the stated aim to oust Russia’s military leaders as he turned on the top brass in Moscow.

Putin raged “this is treason” in an astonishing early morning TV address to the nation which showed he wasn’t backing down.

Within hours of a 400-vehicle convoy rolling onto Russian soil from Ukraine, Wagner troops seized control of Russia’s regional military HQ in Rostov-on-Don.

They rode heavy military machinery, tanks and trucks.

Prigozhin bragged his men — believed to be better equipped than the Russian army — did not need to fire a single shot as they took control of the HQ.

He said: “The border guards greeted us and hugged our fighters. If anyone gets in our way, we will destroy everything. We are going all the way.”

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Images from nearby Voronezh claimed to show 180 border officials stepping aside for the group.

Voronezh governor Alexander Gusev insisted Russian troops were carrying out combat measures against insurgent forces as part of a “counter-terrorist operation” as Putin’s helicopters opened fire against a nearby oil depot in a bid to halt the rebels.

The warlord vowed to march on Moscow – and a Wagner convoy seemingly heading towards the capital came under attack from Putin loyalist helicopters.

Airborne attacks continued as the Wagner convoy drove down Russia’s M4 motorway.

Wagner downed at least three Russian helicopters, while reports online suggested 12 deaths on the government side.

Prigozhin claimed one missile struck a civilian bus.

Multiple roads were dug up in a bid to slow rebel columns.

Kremlin chiefs scrambled pick-up trucks piled full of sand to blockade gateways to Moscow, home to 12million.

But then in an astonishing turnaround with his forces some 120 miles from Moscow, Prigozhin claimed he was ready to back down.

In an audio message to his troops, he ordered them to return to their bases to “avoid bloodshed”.

“We’re turning around our convoys and going in the opposite direction,” he said in a voice message published by his Concord firm.

Prigozhin’s forces have begun to pull out of the Rostov region and Russia’s military HQ in a dramatic u-turn.

Footage also showed the Wagner warlord leaving in the back of a black car as people waved and cheered the exiled leader.

It comes after Putin’s pal Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko claimed he had brokered a deal with the Wagner Group.

The terms of the deal appeared to be confirmed by the Kremlin after the announcement that Prigozhin would leave for Belarus and would not face charges over the attempted coup.

Fighters who took part alongside him would not be prosecuted while Wagner troops who did not march would sign contracts with the defence ministry, it said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said a deal was struck “avoiding bloodshed, internal confrontation, and clashes with unpredictable results was the highest goal”.

He described the drama as “fairly difficult” and “full of tragic events”.

It is unclear if Prigozhin’s demands were met after he asked for the defence minister Sergei Shoigu and chief of the general staff Valery Gerasimov to be fired. 

Videos showed forces in Rostov cheering after the apparent de-escalation while residents shouted support for the mercenary group.

It could now prove to be a difficult few days for Putin as he desperately tries to cling to power and save his strong-man image.

Defence Select Committee chair Tobias Ellwood MP told The Sun on Sunday: “In his 23 years in power, Putin has never been challenged like this.

“When Kremlin politics turn it happens very quickly.”

Experts also feared this may not be the end of the rebellion after a dramatic 24 hours for the Kremlin.

“Putin’s No.1 Enemy” Bill Browder told The Sun he did not believe the peace deal was legitimate.

“This is just the beginning,” he warned.

Russia has since claimed that at least 15 were killed during the mutiny.

What we know:

  • Wagner Group forces were in open rebellion as an arrest warrant was issued for warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin
  • Putin delivered an early morning address, raging: “This is treason”
  • The mercenary company marched on Moscow with 25,000 soldiers after crossing border from the battlefields in Ukraine
  • And then an eleventh-hour intervention seemingly saw Prigozhin agree to stand down his men
  • Rishi Sunak called a Cobra meeting as the UK monitored the situation along with the rest of the West
  • Ukraine celebrated the infighting in Russia – and said it showed weakness
  • Wagner troops engaged with Russian military forces on the road to Moscow
  • Helicopters and a spy plane were reportedly been shot down, and an oil depot was blown up
  • Wagner warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed he wanted to oust the Russian military top brass
  • Prigozhin flees to Belarus and arrest warrant is dropped in Kremlin deal brokered by Lukashenko
  • Wagner forces have retreated and leave Russia’s military HQ

Prigozhin‘s army of 25,000 were heading straight for the capital – and there were reports of main army Russian forces actually siding with them and swelling their numbers.

It was looking like Putin’s regime could totally collapse within hours.

Russia was hastily readying defences with dump trucks full of sand being rolled onto roads as makeshift barriers, trenches being dug, and reports of machine gun nests being set up in the suburbs.

Roadblocks manned by special forces were set up around the city as military officials launch a desperate bid to secure both the Kremlin and Russia’s parliament.

It is also reported a Russian spy plane – an IL-18 – was shot down by Wagner anti-air forces, with pictures showing the mercenaries armed with anti-air trucks.

Footage widely published in Russia shows the plane exploding in flames and twisting as it crashed to the ground near Voronezh

And so cowering Putin battened down the hatches and sent his guards and tanks onto the streets.

The mayor of Moscow announced the start of a “counter-terrorist operation regime” and urged residents to stay home.

Let’s just say that if this thing does de-escalate – there’s gonna be a massive purge of the Kremlin like we’ve never seen before.

Bill Browder

Photographs also showed armed police gathering at the point where the M4 highway – which mutinous Wagner mercenaries are moving along – reaches Moscow.

One of Putin’s presidential planes also appears to be airborne flying north from the city – but it was unclear if he has fled the capital.

The Kremlin insisted Putin was still working in Moscow. But Leonid Nevzlin, a long-time foe, claimed he’d fled to his country residence with associates. Nevzlin said: “The dictator is in a panic.”

In his Telegram address, President Zelensky said he was sure the tyrant was “no longer in Moscow.”

He said: “The man from the Kremlin is obviously very afraid and probably hiding somewhere, not showing himself.”

While infighting ensued in Moscow, Ukraine said it was able to advance along its eastern front and make gains near Bakhmut – an area previously occupied by Wagner forces.

Battles raged in Voronezh as Russian choppers opened fire on the Wagner convoy on a highway outside the city – and an oil depot was blown up.

Prigozhin declared that his mercenaries were “ready to die” in the fight – as he urged more soldiers to join him.

He vowed: “We’re 25,000 strong, and we’re going to get to the bottom of the lawlessness in this country.”

“Everyone who wants to, join us. We need to put an end to this disgrace,” he added.

Putin made clear the battle lines have now been drawn between the Wagner Group and the Russian military during his speech.

The 70-year-old warned: “This is a criminal campaign. It is equivalent to armed mutiny.

“Russia will defend itself and repel this move. We are fighting for the life and security of our citizens and our territorial integrity.

“Everything has to be done in order to put this danger to rest. It is an attempt to subvert us from inside. This is treason.

“In the face of those who are fighting on the front, this is a stab in the back of the troops and the people of Russia.”

Putin said “Those who mutiny have betrayed Russia”, adding: “These people will be brought to justice on behalf of our people.”

A defiant Prigozhin hit back at Putin and said “no one will surrender to the demands of the president”.

“We don’t want our country to live anymore in corruption, lies and bureaucracy,” he fumed.

But then despite the fighting talk – it appears Prigozhin suddenly backed down.

Mr Browder, a former financier who worked in Russia and has since been taking on Putin, said he didn’t believe the crisis was over.

“There’s no way to de-escalate because Putin can’t forgive somebody who has disrespected him in such a powerful way,” he told The Sun.

“Putin already tried to kill Prigozhin, and he understands they’ll probably try it again. I think nobody trusts anyone there now.”

“Let’s just say that if this thing does de-escalate – there’s gonna be a massive purge of the Kremlin like we’ve never seen before.

“Putin is going to go after everybody he distrusts in every possible way and it’s going to be a total disaster for all people inside the establishment as Putin tests their loyalty because this is the scariest thing that has ever happened to Putin.”

“They’ve emptied out the prisons, and now they’re going to fill them up with perceived enemies of the regime.”

Colonel Hamish de Bretton Gordon previously told The Sun that he thought warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin could march on Moscow in a “Roman-style” rebellion.

His chilling prediction now seems to be coming true.

“The next 24 to 48 hours will be crucial, we could well see the implosion of Putin,” said the retired Colonel today.

“It is sort of like Caesar being stabbed in the back by those he thought were fighting for him.”

And he added there is a risk of “nuclear Armageddon” if Russia starts to fall to pieces and descend into chaos. 

“Western leaders, particularly the UK and US, can sit back and watch the Russians defeat themselves, but we must make sure that there is no chance that nuclear escalation.”

Russia’s elites are now like “scorpions trying to kill each other,” said the British army officer, adding Putin is likely “on the phone to Tehran or North Korea”.

Michael McFaul, a former US ambassador to Russia, said on Twitter that Russia was now facing a “civil war”.

He branded the Wagner rebellion as the “biggest crisis” Vlad has ever faced. “The fight is now on.”

In the face of those who are fighting on the front, this is a stab in the back of the troops and the people of Russia

Vladimir Putin

In comments to BBC Radio 4, he added: “Putin has a major crisis on his hands – the biggest crisis he has ever faced in his 23 years of power.”

McFaul said he was “struck” by the lack of resistance Prigozhin faced from the Russian army as he seized both Restov and Voronezh “without a fight”.

He believes it suggests there’s a swathe of Putin’s forces who will not be willing to meet Prigozhin in battle.

General Sir Richard Barrons, former head of Joint Forces Command, told The Sun that the uprising by the mercenary company will deal a major “psychological blow” to Putin. 

He explained that Wagner’s boss has been raging against the Kremlin military leaders over lack of support and feels angry over Russian losses around Bakhmut. 

Wagner claimed victory in the Ukrainian city after one year of some of the bloodiest fighting in the war so far – only for some of the gains to be given up when they withdrew. 

Barrons said: “Prigozhin is just a bit crazy – he’s clearly whipped himself up into a condition where he feels he is crusading against the Russian military leadership.”

Anton Gerashenko, a former Ukrainian interior minister, said Ukraine was now “a few steps closer to complete victory over Russia”.

Prigozhin and his troops have been fighting in the tyrant’s shambolic war in Ukraine – but the Wagner boss has become a vocal critic of Russia’s military leadership.

The conflict has been disastrous – blighted by under-equipped and under-trained soldiers.

It’s estimated up 220,000 Russians have died since Vlad invaded last February – and the grinding bloodbath has sparked fury from Prigozhin.

The Wagner boss has long been thought to have had ambitions of taking control from Putin, especially as his forces played an increasingly crucial role in Ukraine.