Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said Saturday he has ordered his fighters to halt their march on Moscow and return to their bases in Ukraine to avoid bloodshed.

Prigozhin's announcement seemingly puts an end to what observers called the most significant challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin's regime in his 23 years in power.

In audio posted to social media, Prigozhin said that while his troops were just 120 miles from Moscow, he chose to turn back to avoid "shedding Russian blood."

The Associated Press reports he didn’t say whether Moscow has responded to his demand to oust Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. There was no immediate comment from the Kremlin.

The announcement followed a statement from the office of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko saying that he had negotiated a deal with Prigozhin after discussing the issue with Putin. Prigozhin agreed to halt the advance in a proposed settlement that contains security guarantees for Wagner troops, Lukashenko's office said. It didn’t elaborate.