Image source, Reuters

All restrictions previously imposed on Russia's motorways have been lifted by the Federal Road Agency following the retreat of Wagner forces, Russia's Tass news agency reports.

Sections of roads had been blocked along the route to Moscow from southern Russia over the last 24 hours, including in the Rostov, Lipetsk, Voronezh and Tula regions.

Potential fallout far beyond Russia and Ukrainepublished at 23:38 British Summer Time 24 June 2023

23:38 BST 24 June 2023

Joe Inwood
BBC correspondent, formerly covering Ukraine and Africa

Yevgeny Prigozhin may have stepped back from the brink, but events of the last 24 hours will have fundamentally altered his relationship with Russia’s president.

Once called 'Putin’s chef' because of his work in catering, Prigozhin and his Wagner mercenary company have for many years played a key, if covert, role in Russian foreign policy.

Putin used Wagner to intervene in a way that he was unable or unwilling to do, publicly at least.

From shoring up Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, to running bot farms accused of trying to interfere in the 2016 US elections, Wagner has played an increasingly important role in some of the world’s most troubled locations.

But it is in Africa that the mercenaries are thought to have the biggest footprint.

In Mali, for example, where coups in 2020 and 2021 saw the instillation of a military regime, Wagner are heavily involved in fighting a long-running Islamist insurgency. Although it is believed they are there at the behest of the Russian government, Wagner are the boots on the ground.

In the Central African Republic, where they are said to be helping the government to defend the capital from rebel groups, Wagner have been accused of widespread human rights abuses.

Given that it seems likely that Wagner will now be ostracised by the Kremlin, what will happen to the fighters in Africa and the governments they support?

On top of that, they are thought to control significant mineral resources, the source of much of the group’s wealth.

Will Prigozhin be able to maintain his grip on these, now that he has fallen so far from favour?

Yevgeny Prigozhin moving to Belarus and Wagner fighters being absorbed into the Russian military could spell the end of the notorious mercenary outfit, an expert has told the BBC.

Andrew D'Anieri, from the US-based Atlantic Council think tank, says it is hard to say exactly what will happen, given the chaotic and unclear nature of the information coming out of Russia.

But he also says the Wagner retreat doesn't mean all private military companies in Russia are "on the outs either".

"Even though they are technically illegal in Russia, we have seen a proliferation of them in the past 12 months or so."

D'Anieri says it has become clear over the last day "just how small the decision making circle is in Moscow" and how brittle Vladimir Putin's authority is.

Watch: Wagner fighters leave city of Rostov-on-Donpublished at 23:06 British Summer Time 24 June 2023

23:06 BST 24 June 2023

Less than 24 hours after they took the city, Wagner fighters have left Rostov-on-Don and are headed back to their field camps, the regional governor says.

Earlier today, the mercenaries took control of the strategic military headquarters in the city.

Image source, Reuters

The head of the Wagner mercenary group has been pictured by Reuters news agency apparently leaving the city of Rostov-on-Don, which his fighters took control of earlier today.

Yevgeny Prigozhin was driving away from the district military headquarters in the city, the agency says.

According to Russian state media, Progozhin is to leave Russia for Belarus and all charges against him and his Wagner forces will be dropped by authorities to avoid "bloodshed".

What happens now?published at 22:17 British Summer Time 24 June 2023

22:17 BST 24 June 2023

Frank Gardner
BBC News, Security Correspondent

Even for seasoned Kremlin-watchers, this has been the most extraordinary 24 hours.

One moment Russia looked to be almost on the brink of civil war with Moscow’s most effective ground force, the Wagner group, rebelling in open defiance of the Kremlin.

The next, it all appeared to be over with the renegade mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin backing down and withdrawing his forces after a phone call from the Belarus leader.

What exactly was said in that phone call?

We are not told, but it’s fair to assume that Prigozhin was given some home truths somewhere along the lines of: "Look, you’re on your own here, no one has come out in support for you, and if you continue on this course a lot of blood is going to be spilled, and that’s Russian blood."

Where does this leave the Wagner group? They have, after all, been a useful arms-length tool for the Kremlin for the past eight years, promoting its interests from Mali to Ukraine with scant regard for human rights.

But it’s hard to see how President Putin could ever again trust his former protege Prigozhin.

He’s accused him of treachery and betrayal and the FSB security forces consider him a criminal.

So expect purges and possibly some reshuffling in the defence ministry. And, meanwhile, the war in Ukraine will likely continue unabated. For the hard-pressed Ukrainian troops on the front line, the intermission is over.

Image source, Reuters

As Wagner fighters leave the military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don, residents of the city have been chanting "Wagner! Wagner!" in an apparent show of support for the mercenaries.

As night fell, dozens of locals gathered to show the fighter their support, according to footage from the city.

It was not clear if they were showing support for the fighters' actions in Ukraine or the aborted rebellion.

Image source, Reuters

The Wagner rebellion will not affect Russia's military offensive in Ukraine, the Kremlin press secretary says.

Dmitry Peskov says it is "out of the question" that the mercenary group's aborted rebellion would impact Russia's campaign against Kyiv.

Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin earlier claimed that 25,000 of his fighters were ready to challenge President Putin, and convoys of his men were heading towards Moscow after crossing the border from Ukraine. They halted their advance and many have been seen leaving their positions.

Wagner fighters have been instrumental during Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Peskov says mercenaries who wish to sign a Ministry of Defence contract can, and fighters who took part today's uprising will not be prosecuted.

Some fresh photos have come to us from Rostov-on-Don, where locals appear to be hanging out with Wagner troops and saying goodbye as the mercenaries leave the city.

The photographs, taken by journalists working for the trusted news agency Reuters, show a tank leaving the headquarters of the Southern Military District.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

We've just heard from Dmitry Peskov, President Putin's press secretary.

Peskov says Wagner mercenaries who wish to sign a Ministry of Defence contract can, and fighters who took part today's uprising will not be prosecuted.

Russian state media have just reported that Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin will leave for Belarus.

The reports say charges against him and his Wagner forces will be dropped by Russian authorities to avoid "bloodshed".

As we've just been reporting, Wagner forces are said to be leaving Rostov-on-Don.

Earlier today, residents were asked by the region's governor not to travel to the city centre and, if possible, not to leave their homes after the Wagner rebellion in the city.

But this evening, the tension seems to have deflated.

In unverified posts on Telegram, videos show Wagner troops shaking hands with the locals and getting back into their armoured vehicles. In one photo, two girls take a selfie in front of a Wagner tank.

Wagner troops have started to leave Rostov-on-Don, according Russian state-owned news agency Tass. Four pickup trucks have left, but tanks and other heavy equipment remain, it says.

For most of today, the southern Russian city was at the centre of Wagner's "mutiny". Wagner mercenaries entered the city in the early hours of Saturday and reportedly took over the regional military command.

For the entire day social media was awash with rumours of explosions and shots fired, along with videos of Wagner soldiers setting up posts in the city centre and warnings that Chechen troops were approaching to fight them off.

James Nixey, head of the Russia-Eurasia programme at Chatham House, says Ukraine will profit from the crisis in Russia.

Speaking with the BBC, Nixey says Ukraine is likely to continue to "needle Russia" to try to create implosions within the country.

Nixey says today marked the worst day for Vladimir Putin in all his years of presidency.

"He's losing this [Ukraine] war," Nixey says.

"That's not to say Ukraine is finding it very easy to win... but this is not what Vladimir Putin expected so far into his presidency."

Image source, REUTERS

BBC Security Correspondent Frank Gardner says Lukashenko's deal means it is "one-nil to President Putin".

He says Yevgeny Prigozhin expected people to "rise up and join him" but that did not happen.

Putin is "not somebody who's going to forgive this", Gardner says.

"I think Prigozhin's military and political future must now be over."

Gardner added it was "deeply embarrassing" for Putin that Prigozhin was able to cross the border and take Russian Southern District military headquarters Rostov-On-Don with nobody opposing him.

John Herbst, a former US ambassador to Ukraine, says it's hard to imagine the crisis in Russia will come to a halt now.

He tells the BBC it's not clear what will unfold next, but Prigozhin is not going to submit to being under the control of the Ministry of Defense.

This moment could mark a pause before an actual "clash of arms", says Herbst.

Or perhaps Putin would be willing to back away from his statements and maintain precautions, he says.

Either way, the West should be "watching carefully and saying nothing", he says.

Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky has put out a statement commenting on the day's events.

He said: "Today is a day when there definitely should be no silence. And we definitely need leadership. Today the world saw that the bosses of Russia do not control anything. Nothing at all. Complete chaos. Complete absence of any predictability. And it is happening on Russian territory, which is fully loaded with weapons."

Zelensky added that today, "all Russian bandits, mercenaries and oligarchs" saw how easy it was to "capture Russian cities".

He once again urged Western partners to support Ukraine and to help it "protect Europe" with planes and weapons.

Then, switching from Ukrainian to Russian, he said: "The man from the Kremlin is obviously very afraid and probably hiding somewhere, not showing himself. I am sure that he is no longer in Moscow."

"He knows what he is afraid of because he himself created this threat. All evil, all losses, all hatred – it is he who spreads it."

Image source, Reuters

Michael O'Hanlon, an expert with the Brookings Institution, tells the BBC this deal "makes sense" because the situation in Russia was "extraordinarily risky" from Yevgeny Prigozhin's point of view.

"The idea that Prigozhin could somehow engender a broad-based mass revolt against Putin is really a fairly tale," O'Hanlon says.

However, it remains a "highly critical and dangerous moment" in Russia, O'Hanlon says.

Several questions also remain, including what kind of terms Prigozhin was offered and what prospects he has for staying alive, O'Hanlon says.

It's been a remarkable half hour with the sudden news that Wagner's soldiers will stop marching to Moscow.

Here's the full statement from the Wagner chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin:

"They wanted to disband the Wagner military company. We embarked on a march of justice on 23 June.

In 24 hours, we got to within 200km of Moscow. In this time we did not spill a single drop of our fighters' blood.

Now the moment has come when blood could be spilled. Understanding responsibility [for the chance] that Russian blood will be spilled on one side, we are turning our columns around and going back to field camps as planned."

Prigozhin's statement has been viewed on his Telegram channel more than three million times.

Abdujalil Abdurasulov
Reporting from Kyiv, Ukraine

Belarus strongman Aleksander Lukashenko has conducted talks with Yevegeny Prigozhin.

As a result of the negotiations that lasted for the whole day, Prigozhin has agreed to de-escalate.

Lukashenko’s press service reports the negotiations took place with Vladimir Putin’s agreement.

“Prigozhin has agreed to stop the march towards Moscow and take further steps to de-escalate the situation,” the statement says.

As part of the agreement, Wagner fighters get security guarantees.

What else was offered to Prigozhin and mercenaries is not clear.

Russia has been using the territory of Belarus to launch attacks on Ukraine since the beginning of the invasion, effectively erasing Belarus’ sovereignty.

And any signs showing that Putin’s grip on power is weaking threatens the regime in Minsk that is heavily dependent on Moscow.

Earlier today, Svitlana Tikhanovskaya, the opposition leader who challenged Lukashenko in 2020 presidential elections, said the Wagner’s rebellion “is the best chance to kick the Russian military out from [Belarus]”.

“If we miss this chance,” she said in her video appeal, “Russia will do to us exactly what they did to Ukraine.”