Case Against Prigozhin Dropped; Def Min Claims Wagner Handing Over Arms

The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has stated that the treason case brought against Wagner PMC head Yevgeny Prigozhin has been dropped, just as reportsemerge that Wagner is preparing to hand over its heavy military equipment to the Russian defence ministry. If confirmed then this series of events could point towards Prigozhin accepting that his march to Moscow did not achieve its aims and that he is now in the business of avoiding prosecution or other actions by the Russian state.

• Conversely, the swift dropping of the treason case against Prigozhin and Wagner officials stands in stark contrast to the harsh punishments meted out to democratic opponents of Putin such as Alexei Navalny and the late Boris Nemtsov. As such, the dropping of the case could also be viewed in the context of pressure potentially being applied to President Vladimir Putin to avoid further escalation.
• Moreover, dropping the case following Putin's aggressive and violent speech to the nation on the evening of 26 June, in which he stated that “the organisers of the rebellion betrayed their country, their people, their state, they murdered their own.” could be an indication of other power centres developing within the upper echelons of the Russian state.
• For our latest analysis on the long-term implications of the mutiny for Russia please follow this link.