‘Wagner fighters can join Russian military or move to Belarus,’ Putin says

The leader of the hardline secret military group that attempted to attack the Kremlin has broken his silence after being exiled from Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has addressed the nation in his first public remarks since a failed mutiny by the Wagner Group. Picture: Sputnik/AFP

Exhiled Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin has broken his silence in an 11-minute audio message he sent after fleeing Russia.

The hardline leader of the private mercenaries group behind the weekend’s mutiny insisted he did not try to overthrow Vladimir Putin and that he started his march towards the Kremlin because 30 of his men were killed in a Russian rocket attack.

“We started our march because of an injustice,” he said in the recording, believed to have been sent from Belarus.

He explained why Wagner forces stopped their halt towards Moscow late on Saturday.

“We felt that the demonstration of what we were going to do was enough,” he said.

“And our decision to turn back was influenced by two most important factors. The first factor was that we did not want to shed Russian blood.

“The second factor was that we were going for a demonstration of our protest, not to overthrow the government in the country.”

It is a message rejected by the Russian President who spoke to the nation in his first public address less than an hour ago.

He said “the overwhelming majority” of Wagner forces were patriots of Russia who did not want to follow Prigozhin’s lead.

He offered them two choices.

“I thank Wagner soldiers and commanders who did not shed blood – you can sign a contract with the Ministry of Defence, or move to Belarus,” he said.

The Russian leader claimed “the overwhelming majority” of the Wagner company are patriots of Russia.

“By turning back they avoided further bloodshed,” he continued.

During his five minute televised address, Mr Putin assured the Wagner soldiers who avoided bloodshed and want to go to Belarus that he will keep his promise and allow them to do so.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has addressed the nation in his first public remarks since a failed mutiny by the Wagner Group. Picture: Sputnik/AFP

Members of Wagner group stand on the balcony of a building in Rostov-on-Don, during the attempted mutiny on June 24. Picture: Roman Romokhov/AFP

He added that all necessary decisions to neutralise threat were taken at the very beginning, and “the mutiny would have been suppressed anyway, organisers realised their actions were criminal”.

Mr Putin told Russians those who staged the “mutiny” wanted Russia to lose “and our society to drown in blood, but they miscalculated”.

He went on to thank the Russian people for their “resilience, cohesion and patriotism” and all security services “who stayed loyal to their oath” as well as pilots who died.

Mr Putin makes a statement in Moscow on June 24 as Wagner fighters stage a rebellion. Picture: Pavel Bednyakov/Sputnik/AFP

Mr Putin also took aim at the West, saying Western nations and Ukraine wanted Russian soldiers to shoot at each other.

“It was precisely this fratricide that Russia’s enemies wanted: both the neo-Nazis in Kyiv and their Western patrons, and all sorts of national traitors. They wanted Russian soldiers to kill each other.” The longtime Russian leader warned attempts to sow unrest in Russia, which he has ruled for more than two decades, would fail.

“Civilian solidarity showed that any blackmail, any attempts to organise internal turmoil, is doomed to fail,” he told Russians.

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko will make an statement later Monday, a Telegram channel close to him said as his Russian ally Mr Putin prepared to address his nation.

Mr Lukashenko will “answer everything, very soon,” Pul Pervogo, a Telegram channel close to the Belarusian presidency, announced.

The announcement came two days after Mr Lukashenko brokered a deal ending an armed mutiny in Russia.

Members of the Wagner group detain a man in the city of Rostov-on-Don, on June 24, 2023. Picture: AFP

An armoured personnel carrier is parked in a street as members of the Wagner group patrol an area in the centre of Rostov-on-Don. Picture: Stringer/AFP

US talked to Russia during Wagner revolt: report

US diplomats reached out to Russian counterparts in “real time” to discuss security concerns during the Wagner mercenary group revolt, the White House said on Monday.

The relatively rare Russia-US contact came during the mutiny by Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Wagner group as it briefly took control of a major city and threatened an attack on Moscow. The upheaval sparked fears in Washington that nuclear-armed Russia could descend into chaos.

“Instability in Russia is something that, you know, we take seriously and we certainly had lots of questions over the course of the weekend,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said, when asked about fears over turmoil in nuclear-armed Russia.

“We did have and were able to have in real time – through diplomatic channels – conversations with Russian officials about our concerns,” he said.

Mr Kirby said US officials continue to monitor Moscow’s nuclear posture “very closely” during the invasion by Russian troops of pro-Western Ukraine.

So far there is “no indication” that Mr Putin is moving in the “direction” of using nuclear weapons or “anything that will cause us to change our own deterrent posture,” Mr Kirby said.

— with AFP.

Originally published as ‘Wagner fighters can join Russian military or move to Belarus,’ Putin says