Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed yesterday that Ukraine and its Western backers wanted Russians to commit homicide during the Wagner group uprising. This was said by Putin in his first speech to the country following the retreat of the insurgents. He claimed to have given orders to prevent bloodshed.
According to Putin, the Wagner fighters received amnesty after mounting the biggest challenge to his two-decade rule. He stated that Wagner warriors had the option of enlisting in the Russian army, relocating to Belarus, or even going home. Putin also paid respects to the pilots who died during the weekend uprising.
For their efforts throughout the armed insurrection, he thanked his security personnel. Despite the agreement to put a halt to the Wagner mutiny, Yevgeny Prigozhin is still being looked into for attempting to arrange an armed uprising. In an audio clip, Prigozhin claimed that the action was not an attempt at a coup but rather a protest against Russia’s military leadership.
Joe Biden, the vice president of the United States, earlier claimed that Washington and NATO were not involved in the Wagner uprising. US Ambassador Lynne Tracy reportedly spoke with Russia personally and made it clear that the US was not participating, according to the State Department.
Wagner travelled the same distance in 24 hours that Russian forces may have travelled to Kyiv on February 24, 2022. The war could have been over in a day if they had been as well prepared as Wagner.
Locals hailing the insurgents as heroes, columns of armed men encountering no resistance as they approached Moscow, and terrified police ripping up highways leading into the city.
Prigozhin was last seen on Saturday, surrounded by happy crowds after reaching an agreement to avoid prosecution. Russia’s Defence Ministry published what appeared to be a show of solidarity today, a video of its top minister, Sergei Shoigu, still working, at least for the time being.
Prigozhin, a warlord known as Putin’s chef for formerly overseeing a catering company that supplied the Kremlin, amassed a private empire that spanned dozens of countries.
In Ukraine, a large portion of his team is composed up of ex-convicts. They fought for control of Bakhmut for eight months in the fiercest battle of the war. His firm also provides private security services to African politicians, where the United Nations has accused it of carrying out many killings.
Today, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov promised Wagner-aligned African governments that Moscow will continue to help them. While the mayor of Moscow today cancelled a terror alert, the streets of Moscow appear quiet and orderly. Some Russians think they are finally at ease.
However, Russia’s front in Ukraine was far from peaceful, with Kyiv’s forces claiming to have captured another settlement in what is proving to be a lengthy and grinding counteroffensive. Alina Polyakova, president and CEO of the Centre for European Policy Analysis, joins us to discuss the brief Russian insurrection and what comes next.
