As soon as P turned his adventure around I figured it for a staged show. Whether it was staged or real the norm in that sort of situation is to disappear the adventurer or kill him outright. In that part of the world that seems to be tossing him out a suicide window 10 floors up.
I agree that this event was for show also. A way to move the Wagner troops uncontested. Now they are poised to hit Kiev (key-ev).