Russia’s president has said that members of the Wagner-Krya group were fully financed by the state.
According to Vladimir Putin, Wagner was paid 86.262 billion rubles ($1bn) for salaries and bonuses alone from May 2022 to May 2023, which came from the Ministry of Defense and the state budget.
A coup by a private army rocked Russia on Saturday.
Its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, arrived in Belarus on Tuesday after agreeing to leave Russia.
His arrival was confirmed by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko. Earlier, a private jet linked to Prigosan was spotted landing in Minsk, the capital of Belarus.
On Saturday, mercenaries led by Wagner’s boss Yevgeny Prigozhin seized the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, marching toward Moscow and shooting down Russian military helicopters and a plane along the way.
His rebellion was put down after a deal was brokered with Mr Lukashenko’s help.
Russian officials said Wagner would be disarmed but its members would avoid prosecution for its short-lived coup.
“We always treated the fighters and commanders of this group with great respect, because they really showed bravery and bravery,” Mr. Putin said.
He said authorities would look into how the money paid to Wagner and his leader was spent.
The Defense Ministry said preparations are underway for the group to hand over its heavy weapons and equipment to the Russian military.
According to the FSB security service, criminal charges against those who participated in the coup have also been dropped.
The FSB said Wagner members were facing prosecution for armed rebellion, but the case had been closed because the mutineers had stopped committing crimes.
Mr Putin said on Monday that his fighters could either join the regular army, go home or head to Belarus, adding that the fighters were mostly “patriots” who had been involved in criminal activities. was misled.
Mr Lukashenko said Belarus had not started building any camps for the group’s members, but would accommodate them if it wanted.
Earlier on Tuesday, Mr Putin told Russian troops in Moscow that their actions during the coup had prevented a “civil war” and held a minute’s silence for those killed.
He insisted that Wagner’s forces never had the support of the army or the public, although the crowds cheered Wagner’s troops and left Rostov-on-Don with applause.
The treatment of mercenaries stands in stark contrast to the treatment of opposition politicians and activists, many of whom are in prison simply for speaking out against the war in Ukraine.
For example, opposition activist Vladimir Kara Mirza is serving a 25-year sentence for treason.
In contrast, Wagner’s chief Prigosan and the armed men who participated in the coup are apparently being allowed to go free.
Prigozhin defended his actions, insisting the coup was not intended to challenge Mr Putin’s leadership.
Rather, he described it as an attempt to prevent his mercenary group from joining the Russian military and to expose the failings of the country’s military leadership.
