Wagner Group LIVE: US spy agencies ‘briefed President Biden of Prigozhin’s mutiny days ago’ before humiliated mercenary leader was sent into exile with rebellion charges against him dropped

Follow MailOnline’s live blog as it emerges US spy agencies briefed President Biden of Yevgengy Prigozhin’s mutiny days ago before the Wagner chief was sent into exile in Belarus after aborting his mercenaries’ march to Moscow at the 11th hour.

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Yevgeny Prigozhin’s troops who joined him in the uprising will not face prosecution and those who did not will be offered contracts by the Defence Ministry, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said.

After the deal was reached, Prigozhin, who had charges against him dropped, said he was ordering his troops to halt their march on Moscow and retreat to field camps in Ukraine, where they have been fighting alongside Russian troops.

The deal appeared to defuse a dramatically escalating crisis that represented the most significant challenge to President Vladimir Putin in his more than two decades in power.

Some Wagner mercenaries will join the official Russian military.

Vladimir Putin has survived threats of a coup from private mercenary group Wagner after Prigozhin put an end to his mutiny against the Russian army at the 11th hour.

The Wagner chief called off his troops’ march to Moscow late last night after successful negotiations with Belarus president – and Putin ally – Alexander Lukashenko.

Prigozhin also agreed to flee to Belarus, effectively exiling him from Russia. In return, he will face no charges from the Kremlin for his threats to overthrow Putin.

By this morning, Wagner had pulled out of Rostov-on-Don, the southern military command they had captured on Saturday.

Although Yevgeny Prigozhin’s mutiny appeared to catch Putin and Moscow off guard, CNN reports that US spy agencies had briefed President Joe Biden that they had picked up signs the Wagner chief was planning something.

It’s understood that US intelligence could see ‘Putin’s Chef’ massing weapons, ammunition and other equipment near the Russian border.

The New York Times added that Biden spoke with world leaders from France, Germany and Britain amid concerns that Putin’s nuclear control could descend into chaos.

US spies had been tracking the breakdown in the relationship between Prigozhin and Russia’s defence for months, concluding it was a sign that the war was going badly for both Wagner and Putin’s army.

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