Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated himself on Monday for having “avoided bloodshed” that he said Ukraine and the West wanted during the abortive rebellion of Wagner fighters, to whom he offered to join the army or leave. “From the beginning of the events, measures were taken on my direct instructions in order to avoid a great bloodshed”, declared Vladimir Putin during a televised address, judging that the West and Ukraine wanted “a such a fratricidal outcome”.
Multiple options for Wagner fighters
He thanked the Russians for their “resilience, unity and patriotism” which showed that “all blackmail (…) is doomed to failure”. As for Wagner’s fighters, he offered them to sign a contract with the regular army, to “return to their families and relatives” or “to go to Belarus”, an allied country where their boss Evguéni Prigojine must exile, according to the Kremlin.
The Russian president was speaking two days after an armed rebellion by Wagner led by Yevgeny Prigojine, who assured him on Monday that his objective in sending his men to march towards Moscow was to save his group threatened with destruction by his rival in the Ministry of Defense , not to seize power.
Yevgeny Prigojine accused of having “betrayed his country and his people”
Vladimir Putin has once again accused Wagner’s boss, without naming him, of having “betrayed his country and his people” while “lying” to his men. He cited the “courage and selflessness of heroic airmen who fell in battle”, while the Kremlin has not officially communicated on the few aircraft that Wagner says he shot down during his march to Moscow.
“The vast majority of fighters and commanders of the Wagner group are also Russian patriots, devoted to their people and to the state. They have proven this by their courage on the battlefield,” Vladimir Putin further assured. According to Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin was meeting with his main security officials on Monday evening.
State security officials thanked
Subsequently, the Russian president thanked state security officials for their work during the abortive armed rebellion of the Wagner group, at the start of a meeting, a short segment of which was broadcast on television.
“I have called you together to thank you for the work accomplished during these few days and to discuss the situation”, declared Vladimir Putin during this meeting which was held in the presence of the Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu but in the absence of the chief of staff Valéri Guerassimov, the two declared enemies of the chief of Wagner, Evguéni Prigojine.