- President Putin condemns rebellion attempt by Wagner boss Prigozhin and asserts unity of Russian society
- Putin warns against blackmail and hails the retreat of Wagner mercenaries to prevent bloodshed
- Kremlin announces agreement for Wagner leader and troops to relocate to Belarus and receive amnesty
The president referred to the uprising as a “colossal threat” and claimed that “neo-Nazis in Kyiv and their Western backers” wanted Russian soldiers to murder each other.
“Any blackmail is doomed to fail,” Putin said days after Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin’s mutiny attempt.
Monday evening, while addressing the nation from the Kremlin, the Russian president condemned the “criminal acts” perpetrated by Prigozhin’s military.
Putin said any violent uprising would have been crushed and steps were made to “neutralise the threat that had emerged.”
He hailed the Russian people for their “support, patriotism, and solidarity” and declared that their “unity” had “saved” the country.
Putin stated, “Nearly the entirety of Russian society, all of them, have united in the face of the duty to defend the nation.”
He thanked Belarus’s president Alexander Lukashenko for his assistance in achieving a “peaceful resolution” to the crisis.
The Russian commander stated that the majority of Wagner mercenaries were “patriots” and that the plot’s organizers had encouraged them “to fight against their compatriots.”
He added, “By retreating [from their march on Moscow], they avoided additional carnage. We must contemplate those who took this step, which would have devastated Russia.
“I would like to express my gratitude to the commanders and soldiers of the Wagner private company who made the correct decision to retreat and prevent bloodshed.”
‘Revenge for failure’
He further said that “neo-Nazis in Kyiv and the West” wanted Russian soldiers to kill each other and divide society.
During the brief, five-minute address, Putin asserted Ukraine’s involvement in the weekend’s events and referred to the revolt as “revenge for their failure at the front – but they slipped up, they made a mistake.”
Putin directly addressed the mercenaries after his speech, informing them that they had two options: either to continue serving the Russian military by signing a contract with the Ministry of defence or to return home to their families.
He stated, “It is up to every one of you, a choice made by the warriors of Russia who have acknowledged their fault.”
Prigozhin stated earlier on Monday that he ordered his combatants to cease their advance on Moscow. Because he “did not want to shed Russian blood” and had no intention of overthrowing the government.
In addition, he stated that Lukashenko in Belarus “extended his hand and offered to find solutions for Wagner’s continued operation in a legitimate jurisdiction.”
However, Prigozhin did not specify where he was or what his future intentions were.
The Kremlin announced an arrangement for the Wagner leader and his troops to go to Belarus and receive amnesty.
In the meantime, a senior White House official denied that the United States was involved in Saturday’s rebellion and stated that the US had “good, direct communication with the Russians over the weekend”.
Joe Biden said leaders should give Putin “no excuse” to blame the revolution on the West or NATO yesterday.
“We made it clear that we were not involved,” stated the president. “We had no involvement in it.
“This was part of a struggle within the Russian system.”
