Wagner boss arrives in Belarus as Russia officially drops charges

• The Kremlin vowed on Saturday that Prigozhin and participating Wagner troops would not be prosecuted, as part of a deal securing the end of Wagner's march on Moscow.
• But Russian media outlets reported Monday that the criminal case had not yet been formally closed.

State of play: At the same time, Russia's Defense Ministry announced in a Telegram post that "preparations are underway" for Wagner troops to hand over military equipment to active units of the Russian army.

• The Defense Ministry did not offer any further details about the transfer.

Russian President Vladimir Putin praised Russia's military and security services during a speech in Moscow's Cathedral Square Tuesday.

• "You saved our homeland from upheaval, in fact, you stopped the civil war," Putin said, RIA Novosti reported.
• The night before, Putin had vowed that the organizers of the "rebellion" over the weekend would be "brought to justice."

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who helped broker a deal allowing Prigozhin to go to Belarus and avoid prosecution, confirmed that the Wagner boss had arrived in the country, Belarusian state news agency Belta reported.

• Lukashenko said to his generals Tuesday that Prigozhin was "half-crazed" during their phone call when he was trying to convince him to stop the rebellion, swearing "10 times more than normal."

• The Belarusian president also claimed that he advised Putin away from making a "tough decision" to "wipe them out."

Meanwhile, in his first remarks since the uprising's end, Prigozhin claimed on Monday that the "march of justice" had not been intended to overthrow the Russian government.

Go deeper: What to know about Yevgeny Prigozhin and the Wagner Group

Editor's note: This article has been updated with comment from Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.