Russia drops charges against mercenary group as Putin attempts to project order

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• Geoff Bennett:

  Russia's security services said today they'd close the criminal case against those responsible for a stunning, but short-lived revolt over the weekend.

  The leader of the mutiny, Yevgeny Prigozhin, arrived in Belarus. And, in Eastern Ukraine, Kyiv's offensive continues, but a devastating Russian missile strike hit a shopping center and a restaurant, killing at least three people.

  Lisa Desjardins has the details.

• Lisa Desjardins:

  At the Kremlin today, a grand ceremony, as Russian President Vladimir Putin sought to recast the weekend's failed revolt as a moment of pride.

  Among the hundreds that attended, a strained-looking Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. His removal had been a key demand of the mutineers. Putin praised Russian government troops as heroic.

• Vladimir Putin, Russian President (through translator):

  You defended the constitutional order, lives, security and freedom of our citizens, and saved our motherland from turmoil. In fact, you stopped a civil war. You acted clearly and harmoniously in a difficult situation.

• Lisa Desjardins:

  But just days earlier, those same government forces allowed the mercenary Wagner Group to seize the southern city of Rostov and drive within 125 miles of Moscow, with little resistance. The Wagner Group shot down six Russian helicopters and an airplane and reportedly killed at least a dozen soldiers during the revolt.

  But, today, Putin's government dropped the charges against the rebels, that in stark contrast to the heavy punishments last year for Russians who protested the Kremlin's Ukraine war. A charge for armed mutiny in Russia could normally mean up to 20 years behind bars.

  We spoke to journalist Andrei Soldatov about the amnesty for the Wagner Group.

• Andrei Soldatov, Russian Investigative Journalist:

  We see that the criminal charges were dropped, which means that he actually could get back to St. Petersburg.

  And what is more, even his companies, they could still operate financial activities of his companies uninterrupted.

• Lisa Desjardins:

  Something else unusual, today, Putin announced that his government paid the Wagner Group over $1 billion, a first admission of the official relationship, and to Soldatov:

• Andrei Soldatov:

  It's a sign that Vladimir Putin his still in a deep shock, because, usually, he hates to disclose these kinds of details.

• Lisa Desjardins:

  This as Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko confirmed today that the man behind the rebellion, Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, had arrived there.

  Prigozhin was last seen Saturday in Southern Russia saying goodbye to cheering crowds, after Lukashenko brokered a deal for Wagner to stand down. Now the group may be repositioning, with Lukashenko saying Belarus is open to hiring its forces as, he says, instructors.

  Alexander Lukashenko, President of Belarus (through translator): There's much talk currently of Wagner, and we take a pragmatic approach. If their commanders come to us and help us, this is experience. Their assault squads are at the forefront.

• Lisa Desjardins:

  That prospect of Wagner forces in Belarus raised alarm in neighboring countries like Latvia and Lithuania. Today, both called for NATO reinforcements on their borders.

  Meanwhile, in Ukraine, more Russian missiles tore into everyday life, this time hitting a shopping area in Kramatorsk in Eastern Ukraine. As Russia launches weapons, the U.S. is sending more help, today pledging an additional $500 million in military aid.

  For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Lisa Desjardins.

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