Chaos in Russia

The unstable situation in Russia is the main topic of tonight's news; earlier today, President Putin was facing the greatest challenge to his authority since assuming office more than 20 years ago, but this evening, there was a sudden change and the crisis seemed to be ended; it's all because of this man. Yevgeny Prego, the leader of the Wagner group of mercenary soldiers operating in Ukraine, has been very critical of Vladimir Putin's handling of the conflict. He has urged Russian troops to rebel against their commanders and declared that his forces were advancing on Moscow, nonetheless, he later made a statement at 6:30 this evening stating that he has agreed to cease the Kremlin then declared that the Wagner force would not be prosecuted and that Prigogene would be relocating to Live in Belarus in order to defuse the situation and, in his words, avoid bloodshed.

President Putin had accused the Wagner gang of treachery and treason tonight, saying that preventing further bloodshed was more vital than punishing individuals. Our correspondents Steve Rosenberg in Moscow and Andrew Harding in eastern Ukraine will have the most recent information on this historic day and our lead international journalist Elise Doucette will join us in the studio with her analysis. Let's begin in Moscow with Steve Rosenberg.

Yes, just a few hours ago it appeared like the Wagner Fighters were route to Moscow, and there appeared to be a significant risk of conflict as a result. However, you know how quickly things can shift in Russia, and today for whatever reason they did so. The day started in the Russian stuff with tanks outside of important buildings and armed men in armor on the streets.

This was where the Wagner mercenary group was tightly attached to the state because they fought for Russia in Ukraine after his feud with the Russian defense ministry over the manner in which the war in Ukraine is being fought came to a head, he appeared to have gone rogue, We've come for the defense minister and the chief of the general staff, he told Russian generals at a military HQ.

If we don't get them, he threatened to blockade the city and travel to Moscow. The Kremlin called this treachery and said that harsh measures would be taken to defend the Fatherland from this threat. Everyone who knowingly organized the armed uprising and used treasonous tactics, including using blackmail and terrorist tactics, will unavoidably face punishment in front of the law and our people mentioned Rose wondered if there would be conflict in the capital if stories of Wagner convoys traveling north to Moscow. This is one of those instances where you just have to put up your hands and ask what on Earth was that about. I mean just a few hours ago Evgeni Pregozian seemed determined to march his men to the top of the hill then he March them down again. We may never know what agreements were or weren't reached. He said Wagner would turn around and return to base. A de-escalation deal with the leader of Belarus claims to have negotiated conflict cooled off.

This morning, a man was standing outside the Russian military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don boasting that his Wagner force had taken it without firing a shot, but who exactly is this man confronting the Russian authorities?

Prior to becoming renowned as Putin's chef, Pregosian was a felon from Saint Petersburg who sold hot dogs after being released from prison. He later moved on to managing upscale restaurants after catching the notice of the leader of Russia Pregosium served as president but also amassed wealth from lucrative military contracts around a decade ago. He then started to carry out operations around the world for the Kremlin, even meddling in the 2016 American presidential election. However, Pregosium is best known for leading Wagner, a private mercenary organization that has been operating across the Middle East and Africa, including Syria Mali and Libya allowing Putin to exert power without being directly involved, but in the last year in Ukraine, as Putin's plans for a quick Victory faded, pagosian forces engaged in some of the fiercest combat, with some of them coming from prisons, where pragosian recruited them in exchange for an early release. Placing flowers on the graves of the deceased helped him develop a reputation in Russia as a nationalist hero who would fight more zealously in Ukraine. However, battles like the one in Bakmut led to a rise in hostility between Pragosian and the regular Russian military leadership; he was furious and accused them of using his men as cannon fodder and depriving them of essential supplies.