2023-07-10 12:56:20
The Kremlin: Putin met Prigozhin and leaders of the Wagner Group, days after the failed rebellion
The Kremlin spokesman said today, Monday, that Russian President Vladimir Putin met with the leader of “Wagner” Yevgeny Prigozhin, days after a short-lived rebellion by the mercenary commander and his private army.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the three-hour meeting took place in the Kremlin on June 29, and leaders from the military group, including Prigozhin, also participated.
Wagner mercenaries fought alongside Russian forces in Ukraine. Prigozhin has a long-standing feud with senior Russian military officers, which culminated on June 24 in an armed rebellion in which he led his fighters into Russia, before Prigozhin ended the rebellion after brokering a deal to exile him to Belarus.
Confirmation of a face-to-face meeting with Putin, who has called Prigozhin a “backstabbing traitor,” represents a new twist to the uncertainty surrounding the mercenary leader, whose fate and whereabouts have remained unknown since the failed rebellion.
Peskov said that during the June 29 meeting, Putin gave an “assessment” of Wagner’s actions on the battlefield in Ukraine and the group’s insurgency. The Kremlin spokesman said the president “also listened to the commanders’ explanations and offered them options for further employment and additional use in combat.”
The leaders themselves presented their version of what happened, and confirmed that they are among the soldiers of the head of state and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and his staunchest supporters, and they also said that they are ready to continue fighting for their homeland.
Peskov said a total of 35 people took part in the meeting, including Wagner leaders and the company’s leadership, specifically Prigozhin himself.
Today, Monday, the Russian Ministry of Defense published a video showing the country’s army commander, the first time that General Valery Gerasimov has appeared since the rebellion aimed at overthrowing him.
During last month’s insurrection, Prigozhin repeatedly denounced Gerasimov, who is chief of the general staff of Russia’s armed forces, and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu for failing to supply ammunition to his fighters in Ukraine.
(Associated Press)
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