MOSCOW — The boss of Russia’s Wagner group has said on his Telegram channel that he has agreed to “stop” the advancement of his troops towards Moscow.

In a surprise move, Yevgeny Prigozhin said his fighters were returning to field camps in Ukraine and did not want to “spill Russian blood”.

Hours earlier, he had called for a rebellion against the Russian army. In response, President Vladimir Putin had pledged to punish those who had “betrayed” Russia.

The Wagner group is a private army of mercenaries that has been fighting alongside the regular Russian army in Ukraine.

Tension had been growing between them over how the war has been fought, with Prigozhin launching vocal criticisms of Russia’s military leadership in recent months.

The agreement to dramatically de-escalate the situation came after Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko held talks with Prigozhin, according to Russian TV channel Rossiya 24.

Earlier, the Wagner group said it had taken the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and seized military facilities in Voronezh. Wagner troops had also started to march toward Moscow after crossing the border from Ukraine.

Russian authorities had introduced tighter security in many regions, including Moscow, where the mayor of the capital city had told residents to avoid traveling.

Commenting on the day’s events, Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky said the situation was “complete chaos”. He once again urged Western allies to support Ukraine.

“The man from the Kremlin is obviously very afraid and probably hiding somewhere, not showing himself. I am sure that he is no longer in Moscow,” he said in a statement.

“He knows what he is afraid of, because he himself created this threat. All evil, all losses, all hatred — it is he who spreads it.” — BBC