Not part of the deal
Putin is still holding on to Defense Minister Shoigu
6/25/2023 6:04 am
Wagner boss Prigozhin rehearses an uprising against Moscow and demands changes in the defense ministry. After the influence of the Belarusian ruler Lukashenko, he gave up his plan and made a deal with the Kremlin – but he should not include any personnel changes.
After the armed uprising of the mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin against the Russian military leadership, the Kremlin sees no influence on the progress of the war against Ukraine. The situation will not affect the course of the “special military operation” against Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Russian news agency Interfax. The Kremlin does not call the Russian invasion a war, but a special operation. Peskov also said he was not aware of any changes in President Vladimir Putin’s attitude towards Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
As head of Russia’s private army, Wagner had accused Prigozhin of Minister Shoigu and Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov of incompetence and blamed them for the many defeats in the war. He kept saying that the war with the minister and Gerasimov could not be won. Prigozhin also lamented corruption, bureaucracy, fraud and theft in the Russian armed forces led by the two. In the course of his rebellion, Prigozhin had demanded that Shoigu and Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov be handed over to him.
According to Peskov, personnel changes in the Russian Ministry of Defense were not part of the agreement to end the armed uprising. These stand alone in the power of the Russian President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Vladimir Putin. “It is therefore unlikely that these issues were discussed,” says Peskow.
In the conflict, the Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko said he had persuaded Prigozhin to give up his armed uprising. Lukashenko offered to be a mediator because he had known Prigozhin personally for around 20 years, Peskov said. In a phone call to Lukashenko, Putin expressed his gratitude that his former confidante Prigozhin could go to the neighboring country. This prevented bloodshed. However, it is not clear what Prigozhin will do in the future, Peskov said. The businessman has so far earned billions from orders from the Russian power apparatus.