US Top General Milley Cancels Trip to Middle East Due to Situation in Russia - Reports

Seething tensions between Wagner PMC boss Evgeny Prigozhin and senior commanders in the Russian military spilled into an armed mutiny by Wagner forces on Friday, with the fighters kicking off a march on Moscow, but stopping and agreeing to return to their bases Saturday evening after negotiations facilitated by Minsk.

US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley canceled a planned trip to the Middle East because of the "situation in Russia," media reported on Saturday, citing Milley's representative.

The trip would have taken him to Israel and Jordan for talks with military officials there.

Separately, Biden National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan also canceled a trip which would have taken him to Denmark for an event related to Ukraine, instead going to Camp David with President Biden.

On Friday, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) opened a criminal case for inciting armed mutiny over statements made Wagner Group private military company (PMC) head Evgeny Prigozhin. The Russian Defense Ministry said that social media reports of alleged Russian military strikes on PMC Wagner camps were not true.

Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a televised address to the nation on Saturday in which he described the actions of the Wagner Group PMC as an armed mutiny and treason, and promised harsh measures against the insurgents.

Later in the day, the Belarusian president's office said that Prigozhin accepted the proposal of President Alexander Lukashenko to stop the advance of Wagner forces on Moscow and take further steps to de-escalate the situation. Prigozhin later confirmed the information, saying that Wagner troops were returning back to their field camps.