In his first public message since the end of the revolt, the Russian president recognized the “resistance, unity and patriotism” of his compatriots and stressed that “all necessary measures were taken to avoid bloodshed.” In addition, he confirmed that Wagner’s rebel fighters can join the Russian Army or “go to Belarus.” Hours earlier, in an 11-minute audio broadcast on June 26, the head of the mercenary group, Yevgeni Prigozhin, defended his brief uprising against the Kremlin and clarified that he did not intend to depose the Russian government, but rather to protect the men. of the.
Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed his nation in a video message on state television, thanking his compatriots for showing “unity” after Wagner’s armed rebellion over the weekend was aborted less than 24 hours after its beginning.
In his first appearance since the end of the rebellion, Putin also thanked most of Wagner’s mercenaries for not allowing the situation to deteriorate into “bloodshed.” In turn, he stressed that all necessary measures were taken to protect the country and the people from the rebellion.
“Since the beginning of the events, measures have been taken under my orders to avoid large-scale bloodshed,” Putin stressed in the televised speech, thanking the Russians for their “resistance, unity and patriotism.”
“It was precisely this fratricide that Russia’s enemies wanted: both the neo-Nazis in kyiv and their Western patrons, and all sorts of domestic traitors. They wanted Russian soldiers to kill each other,” he warned.
Likewise, the Russian president seemed to ratify the conditions of the agreement mediated by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to stop the rebellion by noting that Wagner’s fighters can join the Russian Army or “go to Belarus.”
“We did not want to overthrow the Russian government”: Prigozhin reappears after his failed rebellion
Does the leader of Wagner retract? The head of the Russian mercenary group, Yevgeni Prigozhin, made his first public statement after he rebelled against the Kremlin leadership last Saturday and ordered his men to march on Moscow.
“We went to demonstrate our protest and not to overthrow power in the country,” Prigozhin said in an 11-minute audio broadcast this Monday, June 26.
These are his first public statements after the brief insurrection and unprecedented movement, in which he demanded the departure of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and the Chief of the Russian Army General Staff, Valeri Guerasimov. After weeks of lashing out at the Kremlin over an alleged arms shortage, the man who was close to Vladimir Putin on Saturday accused Russian troops of shelling his fighters.
A confrontation of Russians against Russians, described as an attempted coup, which according to some experts exposed the weakness of the Putin Administration, in the midst of the invasion that he ordered against his neighboring country 16 months ago.
In his statement this Monday, Prigozhin claimed that the way he was able to seize the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don without bloodshed and send an armed convoy within 200 kilometers of Moscow was proof of the “effectiveness” of his mercenaries.
“We showed a master class, as it should have been on February 24, 2022. We did not have the objective of overthrowing the existing regime and the legally elected government,” he remarked in the message broadcast on the Telegram messaging application.
Wagner’s rebellion was brief. He was arrested hours later after mediation by Belarusian President and Kremlin ally Alexander Lukashenko.
Prigozhin announced that he was holding back on his orders in order to avoid much bloodshed. According to Minsk and Moscow, Wagner’s boss He accepted an agreement with which Russia would drop the charges against him for rebellion and could take refuge in Belarusian territory.
However, the Russian media ‘Kommersant’, which cited sources close to the investigation, reported that the criminal case against the leader of the mercenaries would remain active.
“We resisted an attempt to destabilize”
This June 26, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and President Vladimir Putin also reappeared publicly. All in an attempt by Moscow to show unity in the face of the conflict in its neighboring country and after the brief Wagner rebellion.
Mishustin said that Russia rejected an attempt to “destabilize the country” in reference to the uprising of the paramilitary group and did not deny the difficulties that this entailed in recent days.
At a cabinet meeting, Mishustin called this uprising “another challenge” Moscow had to face. “There was an attempt to destabilize the internal situation in Russia,” he said.
“The main thing in these conditions is to guarantee the sovereignty and independence of our country, the security and well-being of citizens. For this, the consolidation of our society around the president is especially important,” he added.
The prime minister also highlighted the actions of his cabinet, noting that they reacted in a “clear and harmonious” way and that this had an impact on maintaining stability “at all levels.”
Meanwhile, the Kremlin released a video of the Russian president, in which he addressed an industrial forum, although it is not confirmed that the images are from this Monday.
The wardrobe with which the Russian head of state is observed in these images is similar to the one he wore during a video message on June 24, when he sent some recorded words on the occasion of Youth Day.
![Vladimir Putin, President of Russia](https://s.france24.com/media/display/4120f20a-143e-11ee-82eb-005056a90321/w:980/p:16x9/m:{"brand":"FRANCE24","lang":"ES","program":"","cartouche":"GUERRA%20EN%20UCRANIA","hash":"59673f450fed4769f7e3b70d28be51a8d82d317e983ad1b5b4f0ee741d3865dc","title":"Putin%20reaparece%20en%20video%250Atras%20intento%20de%20rebeli%C3%B3n%250Ade%20Wagner","id":"5535ce5c-cd7e-11ed-854c-005056bf30b7"}/2023-06-24T071540Z_488425623_RC2JP1AXDF0U_RTRMADP_3_UKRAINE-CRISIS-RUSSIA-PRIGOZHIN-PUTIN.webp)
Also, Putin addressed his country over the weekend in a speech in which he condemned the mutiny of the mercenaries, which he called a “stab in the back.”
Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu also made his first public appearance since the failed Wagner rebellion.
In a video released in the last few hours by the Russian authorities, the leader of the Defense portfolio is seen visiting the invading troops in Ukraine, where, according to the RIA news agency, he held a meeting with the leader of the military units at a command post.
There Shoigu highlighted the “great efficiency in the detection and destruction” of “enemy” weapon systems and soldiers.
Nevertheless, it is not confirmed if the video is recent or if it was recorded previously.
Ukrainian counteroffensive advances
Kiev recaptured the town of Rivnopil, in the province of Donetsk, in the east of the invaded country, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar announced on Monday as part of the counteroffensive launched by her nation in recent weeks.
Through a brief statement, the official announced the recapture of the territory located near the administrative border with Zaporizhia. “We are moving forward,” she stressed.
On the other hand, from Russia the authorities asserted that their military repelled four Ukrainian attacks against Rivnopil.
“In the southern direction of Donetsk, in the area of the Vremevsky salient, artillery fire and heavy flamethrower systems of the Vostok force group repelled four enemy attacks in the area of the Rivnopil settlement of the Donetsk People’s Republic” , indicated the Ministry of Defense of Moscow.
But kyiv points out that its Army is still advancing. The Ukrainian deputy defense minister added that in the nearly three weeks of counteroffensive her troops have retaken control of 130 square kilometers in the south of the country.
With Reuters and EFE
