Putin gathers military in Kremlin to reward those who "stopped" Prigozhin's rebellion
Russian President Vladimir Putin gathered Russian military personnel in the Kremlin to reward those who "stopped" the mutiny of Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Source: Russian state-owned media RIA Novosti
Details: On 27 June, Putin gathered the Russian military in the Kremlin to address them.
In his address to the military, the Russian president said that they "actually stopped the civil war, acted cleanly and in a coordinated manner."
Putin also said that the Russian pilots who died on 24 June "fulfilled their duty honourably".
He also stated that the "determination and courage" of the Russian military, as well as the "consolidation of society," "played a decisive role in suppressing the rebellion".
In addition, the head of the Rosgvardia [Russian National Guard – ed.], Viktor Zolotov, has said that the Rosgvardia would receive heavy weapons and tanks. According to him, this issue was discussed with Putin. It is noteworthy that the Russian Ministry of Defence has recently reported that the Wagner PMC is preparing to hand over its heavy weapons to the Russian Armed Forces.
Zolotov has also stated that they "knew they would win" and that "the rebels would not have taken Moscow".
At the same time, he has also imagined that the mercenary rebellion "was inspired by the West and overlapped with Prigozhin's ambitions".
For reference: According to Russian pro-war media and Telegram channels, between 13 and 20 people were killed in the Wagner mutiny.
The Russian army also suffered losses in equipment: according to the Vazhnye Istorii (Important Stories) media outlet, these included three Mi-8 electronic warfare helicopters, one transport Mi-8, two Ka-52 and Mi-35M attack helicopters, as well as an Il-22M command post aircraft and two KamAZ and Tiger armoured vehicles. The Wagner PMC lost two UAZs, one KamAZ and a VPK-Ural armoured vehicle.
At the same time, according to the Russian Radio Liberty, citing estimates by the Dutch Oryx project, during the mutiny, Wagner fighters shot down an Il-22M aircraft and six Russian army helicopters.
Putin acknowledged the deaths of the Russian pilots during the mutiny, but did not make any loud statements on the matter. The Russian dictator convened a meeting with the heads of law enforcement agencies, but he only thanked them for allegedly "suppressing" the mutiny of the Wagner PMC mercenaries. Putin also thanked the Wagner mercenaries themselves, allegedly for "not committing fratricidal bloodshed".
Background:
- On the evening of 23 June, Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed that the regular Russian army had launched a missile strike on the Wagner mercenaries’ rear camps. He therefore deployed 25,000 of his mercenaries "to restore justice".
- On 24 June, the Wagner mercenaries took control of military facilities in Rostov-on-Don and seized military facilities in Voronezh, and were on their way to Moscow, and the Russian capital was already preparing for defence.
- In an emergency address, dictator Vladimir Putin talked of betrayal and attempts to "organise a rebellion".
- The Russian presidential administration feared that within a few hours, Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagnerites could be near Moscow, and fighting would break out near the capital. According to Ukrainian intelligence, Putin urgently left Moscow for Valdai. The convoy of Wagnerites was spotted 400 km from Moscow.
- On Saturday evening, after a conversation with self-proclaimed President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, Prigozhin said that his mercenaries were turning the convoys around and heading in the opposite direction to set up field camps. Later it became known that the criminal case against Prigozhin would be closed, and he would "go to Belarus".
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