Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of Russia’s paramilitary Wagner Group, said he did not want to spill “Russian blood” and ordered his forces to halt their advance towards Moscow and return to Ukraine.

According to the French news agency AFP, the purpose of this announcement by Yevgeny Prigozhin is to reduce the crisis.

Yevgeny Prigozhin said his forces were only two hundred kilometers from Moscow, but ordered them to withdraw. However, he did not clarify whether Russia accepted his demand to remove the defense minister from office or not.

Wagner Group’s announcement was preceded by a statement from the Office of the President of Belarus saying that they had reached an agreement with Wagner Group after discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The statement went on to say that Yevgeny Prigozhin had accepted the president’s offer and halted the advance towards Moscow.

Earlier, Russia’s Foreign Ministry had warned Western countries to avoid pursuing ‘anti-Russian goals’ from the Wagner group’s armed insurgency.

According to the French news agency AFP, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday that “we warn Western countries not to try to take advantage of our internal situation against Russia.”

It was further said that ‘all the objectives of the special military operation will be achieved.’

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin told citizens not to travel to the city’s outskirts and to take Monday off work.

He said that the situation is bad. I suggest you avoid traveling around the city as much as possible. Monday is off work.’

On the other hand, the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Army, Valery Zalozihny, told his American counterpart, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, that Ukraine’s retaliatory action is being carried out under the plan.

He had said that ‘We have discussed the entire situation of the front line. I have informed them about the action of my units. I have said that the operation is going according to plan.’

He said that ‘I have also discussed the need for specific weapons for the Ukrainian army.’

It should be noted that the Russian paramilitary group Wagner has announced a rebellion against the Russian military leadership, while on the other hand, the security forces have demanded the immediate arrest of the group’s leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Wagner’s forces have played a major role in Russia’s war in Ukraine and have succeeded in capturing the city of Bakhmut, where some of the bloodiest and longest battles have taken place. However, Yevgeny Prigozhin has criticized Russia’s military leadership, accusing them of incompetence, saying they are “hungry for weapons and ammunition.”

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that ‘armed rebellion by the forces of the Wagner group is treason and whoever takes up arms against the Russian army will be punished.’

The Russian president said in an emergency televised address on Saturday that he would do everything to protect Russia and take “decisive action” to stabilize the situation in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don, according to Reuters. will be done

Wagner Group leader Prigozhin claimed on Saturday that his forces had crossed into Russia from Ukraine and reached Rostov.