The Russian authorities have decided to take control of Wagner PMC mercenaries abroad. The Wall Street Journal writes about it.
A few hours after Yevgeny Prigozhin announced that the Wagner convoy was turning around and abandoning plans to reach Moscow, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin flew to Damascus to inform Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that the Wagner PMC would no longer operate independently in this country. After that, according to the WSJ, the mercenaries in Syria were ordered to arrive at the Russian base in Latakia, and they complied with it.
At the same time, representatives of the leadership of the Russian Foreign Ministry contacted the head of the Central African Republic, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, by phone. His personal protection, including the mercenaries of PMC Wagner. In a conversation with him, the Russian side stated that Prigozhin's rebellion would not affect the work of the Wagner PMC in the Central African Republic.
The Russian authorities probably also contacted the leadership of Mali on the same issue, convincing that Prigozhin’s rebellion would not affect the work of the Wagner PMC in the country (mercenaries help the Malian government fight the rebels with the help of jet fighters and Russian-made helicopters). As the publication drew attention to, the aircraft of the Ministry of Emergency Situations after the rebellion of Prigozhin flew from Syria to Mali and back.
Earlier, The New York Times wrote , citing US officials familiar with the intelligence data, that Sergei Surovikin knew in advance about Yevgeny Prigozhin's plans to rebel against the Russian military leadership.
After that, The Moscow Times, citing two sources close to the Ministry of Defense, reported that the commander-in-chief of the Aerospace Forces, deputy commander of the Russian group in Ukraine, Sergei Surovikin, was arrested.