Kremlin insists Ukraine military ops not affected by Wagner affair

The Kremlin spokesman has emphasized that the Wagner affair in the country will "under no circumstances" hinder Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, vowing success of Russian forces in thwarting Ukrainian counteroffensives. 

“The special military operation in Ukraine continues, our soldiers at the frontline are demonstrating heroism, they are quite effectively and successfully countering the counteroffensive of Ukraine’s armed forces. And the operation will continue,” said Kremlin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov late Saturday as quoted in local media reports.

Wagner forces ordered to retreat by leader Yevgeny Prigozhin

Russia

The remarks came after chief of the Wagner paramilitary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, accused Russia's military leaders of ordering a rocket attack on Wagner’s field camps in Ukraine -- where Russia has been leading a military operation -- killing “huge numbers” of his paramilitary forces, and embarked on what he described as a “march for justice” towards the Russian capital Moscow on Friday.

The Wagner’s chief, however, opted for de-escalation on Saturday, accepting a proposal mediated by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

Prigozhin agreed to cease the escalation, saying he does not want to “unleash a bloody massacre” in his homeland.

Russian officials proclaim loyalty to Putin after Wagner’s mutiny

Russian officials have proclaimed loyalty to Putin and predicted victory for him following an armed mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group.

Kremlin says Russian military will recruit Wagner forces

The Kremlin spokesman further stated that Wagner troops will not be prosecuted Prigozhin's initial declaration of mutiny against Moscow, noting that those members of the paramilitary group wishing to sign a contract with the Russian defense ministry in the future would be able to do so.

Peskov also said that a court case previously filed against Prigozhin for targeting Russia’s top military brass in his complaints and ranting had been dropped. 

“A criminal case [against Prigozhin] will be terminated and he will leave for Belarus. If you ask, what is the guarantee that Prigozhin could leave for Belarus, it is the word of the Russian president,” Peskov told reporters

“There was the highest goal of avoiding bloodshed, internal confrontation, and clashes with unpredictable results. It is for these goals that Lukashenko's mediation efforts were made, and President [Vladimir] Putin made a relevant decision on that," he added

Peskov also described the phone call between Putin and his Belarusian counterpart as “very constructive.”

Russia says has foiled large-scale Ukrainian offensive, killed hundreds of Kiev's troops

Russia says its forces have foiled a major Ukrainian offensive in the southern region of Donetsk, killing hundreds of Kiev

Meanwhile, Ukraine claimed on Saturday that the situation that came up in Russia would work to Kiev’s advantage, though there were no indications that the Wagner incident had any impact on the Ukraine conflict.

Earlier this month, Russian forces thwarted a large-scale counteroffensive by the Western-backed Kiev forces in the Donbas region.

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