Russia Threatened To Harm Wagner Leader’s Families: Report

Russian authorities apparently threatened the safety of families of Wagner Group leaders before the rebelling mercenaries backed down from their plans to march towards Moscow on Saturday, according to a report.

British security sources reportedly told the U.K.-based news outlet the Telegraph that Russian intelligence services made the threats ahead of the decision from Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner group, to stand down some 125 miles outside of Russia's capital city.

Insights shared with the Telegraph indicate Russian President Vladimir Putin will now attempt to weave the Wagner soldiers into the nation's military and take out the group's leaders.

Wagner only had about 8,000 fighters -- not the 25,000 it initially claimed, according to the Telegraph.

The report appeared to offer some explanation over why Prigozhin ordered his soldiers to halt their march, the strongest challenge to Putin's leadership in his more than 20 years in power.

The deal that ended the rebellion reportedly booted Prigozhin control of his army in exchange for exile and amnesty in Belarus.

According to the Telegraph, the agreement hands Prigozhin a pardon from treason charges.

Prigozhin had not commented on the matter as of Sunday.

In a statement from his office, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said he brokered an arrangement with Putin that also included unspecified guarantees of security for Wagner troops.

Putin was not seen in public on Sunday, following his address to the nation regarding the Wagner mutiny on Saturday.

Instead, state TV showed a recorded interview Putin gave before the outbreak of the rebellion.

At one point, Putin could be heard saying, “We feel confident, and of course, we are in a position to implement all the plans and tasks ahead of us.”

According to the Telegraph, it remained to be seen on Sunday what impact, if any, the mutiny had on Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

A day after Prigozhin called off the march on Moscow, Russians reacted to the rebellion with anger and confusion. A leading media figure had said the mutiny risked "cutting society in half."

“Our country will never be the same again,” TV anchor and Kremlin propagandist Vladimir Solovyov said Sunday. “The column of Wagnerites didn't just move along the asphalt - it moved through the hearts of people, cutting society in half. We already have a hard time, but yesterday everything hung on a very thin thread.”