Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin thanked the Russian security forces and the people for their support after the rebellion by Wagner’s private army was crushed. “I thank all soldiers and employees of the secret services who stood in the way of the rebels,” Putin said in a speech broadcast on state television on Monday. At his command, everything was done to prevent bloodshed. “It took time,” Putin said. “An armed uprising would have been crushed like that.”
If mercenaries and regular troops had fired at each other, it would have benefited Kiev and the West in particular, Putin explained. They already believed that Russia would dismember itself. But Russian society has shown itself united in its opposition to the uprising. Eventually, the revolutionaries would have recognized this and abandoned it.
After a tumultuous weekend, Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the nation on Monday evening.
Photo: Russian President’s Office via AP/Keystone
After a tumultuous weekend, Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the nation on Monday evening.
In his speech, Putin tried to maintain the impression that the power and security organs are capable of functioning. He praised the courage and self-sacrifice of the Russian pilots who were killed while confronting the insurgents. This is the first time the Russian leadership has acknowledged casualties during the uprising.
A favor and thanks to Lukashenko
At the same time, the 70-year-old Wagner offered the fighters an opportunity. They have been misused for personal goals and ambitions of an individual but have already proved their patriotism in the past. He provided fighters to serve in the Russian armed forces. The president insisted that any attempt to create chaos in Russia would fail. “The organizers of the uprising, who betrayed the country, also betrayed those who were on their side,” Putin said.
He also thanked Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko for mediating the conflict with Wagner boss Prigozhin. His former confidant Prigozhin reportedly took refuge in Belarus after abandoning a rally in Moscow on Saturday. Other Wagner fighters can do the same. Putin insisted his amnesty offer was valid.
Before the speech, there were many political observers Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was fired He had been criticized for months for his failures in the war of aggression against Ukraine, and Prigozhin’s rise was nothing to oppose. But despite the criticism, Putin has stuck by Shoigu — at least for the time being — and is considered a personal confidant of the Kremlin boss.
Zelensky visits frontline areas in southern and eastern Ukraine
Before his speech on a train, Zelensky visited several areas of the front. After the stricken Pakmut mission, he returned to the front a few hours later in southern Ukraine. “Thank you for defending Ukraine and fighting for our freedom and independence,” he told the soldiers involved in the offensive in the country’s south, according to a press release from the president’s office on Monday. He decorated an officer for gallantry.
According to official reports, Zelensky was on the border between Zaporizhia and Donetsk regions, where the Ukrainian army has recaptured several towns in recent weeks. However, according to some experts, the Ukrainian offensive in the region is progressing slowly. On Monday, the Ukrainian president appeared further north at the frontline in the Bagmud region and awarded the soldiers. This front part is considered to be very difficult. (SDA)
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