MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the leaders of last weekend’s Wagner mutiny of wanting “to see Russia choked in bloody strife”.
In a short speech full of vitriol, Putin vowed to bring the organisers of the revolt “to justice”.
But he called regular Wagner troops “patriots” who would be allowed to join the army, go to Belarus or return home.
He did not directly name Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, who earlier denied trying to overthrow Putin’s regime.
Wagner is a private army of mercenaries that has been fighting alongside the regular Russian army in Ukraine.
The short-lived rebellion, which saw Wagner fighters seize a major Russian city before heading north towards Moscow in a column of military vehicles, was a response to government plans to take direct control of Wagner, Prigozhin claimed in an 11-minute long audio statement published on Telegram on Monday.
In June, Russia said “volunteer formations” would be asked to sign Ministry of Defence contracts in a move widely seen as a threat to Prigozhin’s grip on Wagner.
The mercenary chief said his rebellion was also a protest over mistakes made by defence officials during the war with Ukraine.
But he insisted that Wagner had acted always and only in Russia’s interests. (BBC)
