An investigation into the case of an armed mutiny has established that its participants stopped actions directly aimed at committing a crime, and the case was dismissed, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Tuesday.
"During the investigation of the criminal case initiated by the investigative department of the Federal Security Service of Russia on June 23 [...] on the fact of an armed rebellion, it was established that on June 24 its participants stopped actions directly aimed at committing a crime. Taking into account this and other circumstances relevant to the investigation, on June 27, the investigating authority issued a decision to close the criminal case," the FSB said in a statement.
The private military company Wagner Group seized a Russian army headquarters in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don last weekend. Prior to that move, Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin accused the Russian Defense Ministry of attacking the military group's field camps. The Russian Defense Ministry rejected the accusation, while the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) opened a criminal case against Prigozhin for organizing an armed mutiny. Prigozhin said the Wagner Group forces were heading to the Russian capital, Moscow.
On Saturday, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko announced that he had been involved in negotiations with Prigozhin, as agreed with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and they had reached an agreement to de-escalate the situation.
Prigozhin followed up by saying that the Wagner Group would retreat to its bases. According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the charges against Prigozhin would be dropped and he moves to Belarus.