Prigozhin says Wagner Group is turning its convoys around.
They wanted to dissolve Wagner Group. On June 23, we set off on our “march of justice.” In the span of 24 hours, we got within 200 kilometers of Moscow. During the time, not a single drop of our fighters’ blood was shed. Now we’ve reached a point where bloodshed is possible. So, understanding the full responsibility for the potential shedding of Russian blood from either side, we’re turning our columns around and heading back in the opposite direction towards our field camps, according to plan.
This stunt made everyone involved look weak so it makes no sense to fake it.
I agree it’s likely real. But purely theoretically, if Putin wanted to distance himself from something, this would be one approach. E.g. if Prigozhin commits a war crime and Putin can say, “What am I to do!? Revolting mercenaries!”
This is been modus operandi for Wagner and is the only reason they’re allowed to exist while the Russian law forbids private armies, it was Russia’s deniable involvement in various conflicts in Africa and the middle east