Russia still investigating Wagner boss Prigozhin for treason

The leader of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, remains under Russian investigation despite the Kremlin saying criminal charges against him had been dropped, state media say.

Prigozhin led a rebellion on Friday, threatening to march to Moscow to remove Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu.

But he called off his troops a day later under a deal that would see him move to Belarus and charges dropped.

The Kremlin tried to project an image of business as usual on Monday.

Mr Shoigu was shown in a video, allegedly at a forward command post for the war on Ukraine.

It is not clear exactly when that was filmed.

Wagner had been demanding that Mr Shoigu be sacked for his alleged mistakes on the battlefield in Ukraine.

In his first appearance since the weekend turmoil, President Vladimir Putin gave a video address on Monday to engineers attending an industry forum, in which he lavishly praised their contributions to the Russian economy.

Operation "Restore Putin's Reputation" is now in full swing, the BBC's Eastern Europe Correspondent Sarah Rainsford says.

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin urged his team to unite behind President Putin.

Prigozhin's whereabouts remain unclear and, despite his love of media communication, he was uncharacteristically silent.

On Saturday morning, Wagner captured Rostov-on-Don, a city of more than a million people and the seat of Russia's main command centre for military operations in Ukraine.

Then a Wagner column headed north towards Moscow via the city of Voronezh, triggering a state of emergency in the capital and around it.

President Putin addressed the nation condemning Wagner. He did not mention Prigozhin - formerly a close ally - by name, but promised to punish those who had led the mutiny for "treason" and what he called "a stab in the back" of Russia.

Hours later, the mercenaries turned round and left Rostov-on-Don after the Kremlin announced that Prigozhin would move to Belarus and that the Wagner leader and his followers in the rebellion would not be prosecuted.

The apparent deal, involving mediation by Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, left many questions unanswered.

The Kremlin has vowed to incorporate Wagner into the regular Russian armed forces.

But Wagner was still openly recruiting into its own ranks on Monday for service in Russia's "special military operation" in Ukraine.

A notice on Wagner's Telegram channel offers new recruits a minimum of 240,000 roubles a month (£2,236; $2,843) - a fortune for most Russians, especially those in poor regions. It lists call-up centres across Russia, the main one being at Molkino in the far south.

In the eastern Siberian city of Novosibirsk the mercenary group was also recruiting, Russia's Tass news agency reported. The Wagner office there had been shut down on Saturday - but on Monday its banners were on display there again.

Wagner has long been seen as a key tool in Mr Putin's ambition to restore Russian influence globally.

Amid continuing confusion about Wagner's status, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that the group would continue its military role in Mali and the Central African Republic (CAR).

Wagner fighters have a reputation for brutality in Africa and have played a key role in Syria supporting President Bashar al-Assad's forces.

In Ukraine, months of bitter fighting in the devastated city of Bakhmut is believed to have cost thousands of Wagner men's lives.

In an expletive-laden video ahead of the Wagner mutiny, Prigozhin accused the defence ministry of depriving his men of the arms they needed.

Bakhmut remains the only Russian military gain of any note in more than six months of heavy fighting. And Ukraine says its forces have pushed the Russians back around Bakhmut in recent days.