Putin says Russia dodged civil war, prepares to disarm Wagner
Published: 02:06 PM,Jun 27,2023 | EDITED : 06:06 PM,Jun 27,2023
MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin aimed to rally Russia's military and security services Tuesday, telling them they halted a slide into civil war when Wagner mercenaries rebelled and marched on Moscow.
As Russia announced preparations to disarm Yevgeny Prigozhin's private force, Putin and his supporters were insisting his rule was not weakened by the revolt widely seen as the biggest threat to Kremlin authority since he came to power.
Asked whether Putin's power was diminished by the sight of rebel mercenaries seizing a military HQ, advancing on Moscow and shooting down military aircraft along the way, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: 'We don't agree.'
Putin himself, attempted to portray the dramatic events at the weekend as a victory for the Russian regular military which has shown restraint in not being drawn into fighting with the Wagner force.
'You de facto stopped civil war,' Putin told troops from the defence ministry, National Guard, FSB security service and interior ministry gathered for a televised address in a Kremlin courtyard and a minute's silence for airmen slain by Wagner.
'In the confrontation with rebels, our comrades-in-arms, pilots, were killed. They did not flinch and honourably fulfilled their orders and their military duty,' Putin said.
Prigozhin, a former Kremlin ally and catering contractor who built Russia's most powerful private army, has boasted that his men were cheered and welcomed by civilians during his short-lived revolt.
But Putin insisted that Wagner's ordinary fighters had seen that 'the army and the people were not with them.'
Russian officials have been trying to put the crisis behind them for three days, with Prigozhin due to go into exile in Belarus, the FSB dropping charges against rank-and-file Wagner troopers and the military preparing to disarm the group.
'Preparations are underway for the transfer of heavy military equipment from the private military company Wagner to units of the Russian armed forces,' the defence ministry said.
But, even if the immediate security threat of Prigozhin's feud with the defence ministry is over, the Kremlin faces questions over how it handled the issue and allowed the violence of its operation in Ukraine to spill back into the heart of Russia.
The feud between Wagner and the army had escalated for months, with Prigozhin making increasingly scathing statements against the generals' handling of the offensive in Ukraine, blaming them for thousands of Russian losses. — AFP
As Russia announced preparations to disarm Yevgeny Prigozhin's private force, Putin and his supporters were insisting his rule was not weakened by the revolt widely seen as the biggest threat to Kremlin authority since he came to power.
Asked whether Putin's power was diminished by the sight of rebel mercenaries seizing a military HQ, advancing on Moscow and shooting down military aircraft along the way, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: 'We don't agree.'
Putin himself, attempted to portray the dramatic events at the weekend as a victory for the Russian regular military which has shown restraint in not being drawn into fighting with the Wagner force.
'You de facto stopped civil war,' Putin told troops from the defence ministry, National Guard, FSB security service and interior ministry gathered for a televised address in a Kremlin courtyard and a minute's silence for airmen slain by Wagner.
'In the confrontation with rebels, our comrades-in-arms, pilots, were killed. They did not flinch and honourably fulfilled their orders and their military duty,' Putin said.
Prigozhin, a former Kremlin ally and catering contractor who built Russia's most powerful private army, has boasted that his men were cheered and welcomed by civilians during his short-lived revolt.
But Putin insisted that Wagner's ordinary fighters had seen that 'the army and the people were not with them.'
Russian officials have been trying to put the crisis behind them for three days, with Prigozhin due to go into exile in Belarus, the FSB dropping charges against rank-and-file Wagner troopers and the military preparing to disarm the group.
'Preparations are underway for the transfer of heavy military equipment from the private military company Wagner to units of the Russian armed forces,' the defence ministry said.
But, even if the immediate security threat of Prigozhin's feud with the defence ministry is over, the Kremlin faces questions over how it handled the issue and allowed the violence of its operation in Ukraine to spill back into the heart of Russia.
The feud between Wagner and the army had escalated for months, with Prigozhin making increasingly scathing statements against the generals' handling of the offensive in Ukraine, blaming them for thousands of Russian losses. — AFP