A fast-moving crisis unfolded in Russia on Saturday as Vladimir Putin faced an apparent insurrection from a former ally, Yevgeniy Prigozhin, and the Russian mercenary fighters he leads.
Here’s a summary of what we know about the conflict. wapo.st

The Wagner Group is not a single, traditional company, but a shadowy network of organizations providing fighters for hire — with the approval of the Kremlin.
While the group appears to be partly bankrolled by Prigozhin’s ties to the Kremlin, it has also used violence and extortion in an effort to corner the extremely lucrative diamond industry in the Central African Republic. wapo.st

For the moment, things appear to be calming down, as the forces answering to Prigozhin, the Wagner Group chief, halted their march toward Moscow and turned around.
The development came after an agreement between Prigozhin and Putin was brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.  wapo.st

The dispute represents a significant challenge to Putin’s leadership, the potential loss of one of Putin’s most successful field commanders, and a possible shift in the course of the war in Ukraine. wapo.st

Prigozhin had been a fervent supporter of Russia’s war in Ukraine and is in charge of the Russian private military contractor known as the Wagner Group.
Prigozhin had played a central role in the war, first by deploying his mercenaries on the front lines and later by recruiting heavily from prisons to bolster Moscow’s depleted forces. wapo.st

Internal tensions between Prigozhin and Russian military leaders have been simmering for months over what Prigozhin believed were leadership failures within the military.
The dispute reached a boiling point Friday when Prigozhin accused Russian forces of conducting a strike on his fighters at an encampment in Ukraine. wapo.st

Prigozhin said he had taken control of the main Russian military command base in the southern region of Rostov and told two Russian military commanders that he would blockade Rostov and send his forces to Moscow unless he could confront his enemies: Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and chief of the Russian General Staff Valery Gerasimov.
By Saturday, Prigozhin had agreed to turn his forces around and not march to Moscow. wapo.st

Prigozhin posted an 11-minute audio statement on Monday claiming he launched the rebellion after Russian forces killed 30 of his fighters.
Questions remain about the future of Prigozhin’s Wagner Group mercenaries. Read this article paywall free: wapo.st