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London: The Kremlin will drop charges against members of the Wagner paramilitary group’s armed uprising at the weekend and has announced that the mercenaries have agreed to hand over their weaponry.

The terms of the deal struck to end the Wagner mutiny are now emerging, and it appears the group of 25,000 heavily armed troops – who have fought alongside Russians in Ukraine – is set to be disbanded.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the owner of the Wagner Group military company, has reportedly landed in Belarus after the short-lived revolt.Credit: Reuters

Russia’s defence ministry said preparations were under way for Wagner’s heavy weapons and hardware to be handed over following an agreement between the Kremlin and Yevgeny Prigozhin, the group’s founder.

State newswire Ria Novosti also reported that the FSB, Russia’s main security service, said its investigation into the weekend rebellion was not closed because it was determined that its participants “ceased the activities directly aimed at committing the crime”.

While in the immediate aftermath of the failed insurrection the Kremlin had said the charges would be dropped, they had remained in force, in an apparent bid to put pressure on Wagner to abide by the terms of the deal.

Russia’s military leadership – which failed to stop Wagner’s rapid seizure of the southern city of Rostov-on-Don or its advancement to within 200km of Moscow – could yet face a shake-up.

The announcements, made within a few minutes of each other, came after President Vladimir Putin urged the group’s fighters to join the army, stand down or leave the country.

“Preparations are ongoing for the transfer by Wagner PMC of heavy military equipment to active units of the Armed Forces of Russia,” the ministry said.

Prigozhin defended his actions in an 11-minute audio clip posted on social media on Monday, saying Wagner’s aim wasn’t to overthrow the government but to protest the way the paramilitary group was being treated. But he has not yet confirmed whether the group will surrender its weapons.

He has agreed to leave Russia for Belarus after calling off his troops and on Tuesday, a plane linked to Prigozhin landed in the capital, Minsk.

Prigozhin has claimed Wagner had previously planned to hand over its equipment to the defence ministry — until Russia’s army hit one of the group’s bases in an air strike last week. The ministry said the allegations were groundless, and no strike was carried out.

Putin on Monday condemned Wagner’s mercenary army but, in a sign of his growing weakness, said Prigozhin’s men were free to go to Belarus.

The president’s statement, in an evening TV address, appeared to wind back the threat of legal retribution against Prigozhin but left questions open as to his authority as Russia’s 16-month-old war on Ukraine saps its military and economic power.

“The armed rebellion would have been crushed in any event,” Putin said.

“The organisers of such a mutiny, however inadequate they may be, need to understand this. And they understand, including those who embarked on a criminal attempt to split our nation.”

Putin said Wagner’s leaders had “betrayed the country and those who were with them”, adding that most of the group’s fighters were “patriots of Russia” who had been “used” by their command.

The Kremlin said Putin would address a large group of soldiers to discuss the Wagner group’s failed insurrection and his decision to drop charges against the paramilitaries.

Russian soldiers walk past an area where the Wagner Group military company’s tank was parked near the headquarters of the Southern Military District in Rostov-on-Don at the weekend.Credit: AP

His spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, was quoted on Tuesday as saying the Russian president had decided not to prosecute Wagner and Prigozhin over the “extraordinary events”.

“There was a desire not to let the worst-case scenario happen,” Peskov said. “There were certain promises, the agreements are being realised.” He said that Putin “always keeps his word”.

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