According to a recent report from The Telegraph, Russian intelligence agencies have allegedly issued threats to harm the families of leaders within the Wagner mercenary group as the group marched towards Moscow. This revelation may shed light on why Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of Wagner, abruptly called off their mutinous march just hours before reaching the Russian capital on May 24.
The report further suggests that the Wagner mercenary force, which initially claimed to have 25,000 fighters, was actually comprised of only 8,000 fighters. Consequently, it was assessed that they would likely face defeat if they attempted to seize the Russian capital. However, The Telegraph did not disclose the identities of the specific Wagner leaders whose families were allegedly threatened, and the claims made in the report could not be independently verified.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced on Saturday that President Vladimir Putin had agreed to allow Prigozhin to evade criminal charges related to mutiny in exchange for his resignation and exile in neighboring Belarus. However, according to Kommersant business daily and subsequent state news agencies' reports on Monday, Prigozhin is still under investigation for his involvement in an armed rebellion that Putin had strongly denounced as a betrayal.
The sources cited by The Telegraph claimed that President Putin intends to incorporate the Wagner Group soldiers into the Russian military and target the group's former leaders following the dramatic events of the past weekend.
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