‘Any blackmail is doomed to failure,’ defiant Putin warns after attempted rebellion
The president described the revolt as “a colossal threat” – claiming “neo-Nazis in Kyiv and their Western patrons” had wanted Russian soldiers to kill each other.
By Daniel Binns, news reporter
Monday 26 June 2023 21:57, UK
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Vladimir Putin speaking on Monday evening
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Vladimir Putin has warned “any blackmail is doomed to failure” – days after an attempted rebellion led by Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin.
The Russian president – speaking to the nation from the Kremlin on Monday night – condemned the “criminal acts” orchestrated by Prigozhin’s troops.
But Putin insisted that any armed rebellion would have been suppressed – and steps were immediately taken to “neutralise the threat that had arisen”.
Reaction to Putin’s statement – live updates
Wagner troops reportedly advanced north to 120 miles (200km) from Moscow when their convoy turned back
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Wagner troops reportedly advanced north to 120 miles (200km) from Moscow until their convoy turned back
Putin thanked the Russian public for its “support, patriotism and solidarity” – and said there had been a coming together that had “saved” the country.
“Virtually the entirety of Russian society, all of them, have been united in the face of the responsibility to defend the homeland,” Putin claimed.
He expressed gratitude to Belarus’s president Alexander Lukashenko for helping to bring the crisis to a “peaceful resolution”.
The Russian leader said that most Wagner mercenaries were “patriots” – and claimed they had been encouraged by organisers of the plot “to fight against their compatriots”.
He added: “By turning back [from their march on Moscow], they avoided further bloodshed. We have to think about the people who actually decided to take this step, which would have had tragic and devastating consequences for Russia as a whole.
“I would like to thank those commanders and soldiers of the Wagner private company who took the right decision to stop and go back, and prevent bloodshed.”
Read more:
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Wagner troops leave Rostov1:14
Play Video – What next for Russia?
What is next for Russia?
‘Revenge for failure’
He further claimed that “neo-Nazis in Kyiv and the West” had wanted Russian soldiers to kill each other and divide its society.
During the short, five-minute address, Putin claimed Ukraine had been involved in the weekend’s events and called the revolt “revenge for their failure at the front – but they slipped up, they made a mistake”.
Towards the end of his speech, Putin directly addressed the mercenaries and said they were now faced with a choice – either to continue serving the Russian military by entering into a contract with the ministry of defence, or they could return home to their families.
He said: “It is the choice of each of you, a choice of the warriors of Russia who have acknowledged their fault.”
PUTIN SAID LOTS – AND NOTHING AT ALL
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Diana Magnay
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@DiMagnaySky
A late-night address from Vladimir Putin offering Wagner fighters a choice: sign a contract with the ministry of defence, go back home, or go to Belarus.
The president did not name Yevgeny Prigozhin – he tends not to name men he considers his enemy – but he did say that his armed rebellion was exactly what Russia’s enemies, Kyiv and the West, wanted: fratricide, Russians spilling Russian blood. A criminal act overcome only by the consolidation of society, he said.
Not that the Russian public had had much to do with any of this. Prigozhin had pulled his men back, after what appears to have been a good deal of mediation by a number of intermediaries, not just Alexander Lukashenko.
Putin fears a fractured society and he wants to emphasise that attempts to divide the nation will get nowhere. But Saturday showed there are significant cracks – however Putin papers over them.
The nation expected Putin to give them a sense of direction. This was a strange halfway house, saying lots and nothing at all.
Prigozhin’s ultimate fate is still unclear, but Alexander Lukashenko is due to give a speech on Tuesday. Perhaps we will find out more then.
Prigozhin said earlier on Monday that he ordered his fighters to halt their advance on Moscow because he “did not want to shed Russian blood” and never intended to overthrow the government.
He also said Lukashenko in Belarus had “extended his hand and offered to find solutions for the further operation of Wagner in a legitimate jurisdiction”.
But Prigozhin did not offer any details about where he was, or what his future plans are.
Yevgeny Prigozhin poses for selfies as he leaves Rostov Pic: AP0:55
Play Video – Prigozhin ‘didn’t want to shed Russian blood’
Prigozhin ‘didn’t want to shed Russian blood’
It comes after the Kremlin said it had made a deal for the Wagner leader to move to Belarus and receive amnesty, along with his troops.
Meanwhile, a top White House official has denied that the US had any involvement in Saturday’s rebellion – and said it had “good, direct communication with the Russians over the weekend”.
Biden on Russia rebellion
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Play Video – ‘We had nothing to do with it’
‘We had nothing to do with it’
US President Joe Biden also said earlier that it was important leaders gave Putin “no excuse” to blame the mutiny on the West or NATO.
“We made it clear we were not involved,” the president said. “We had nothing to do with it.
“This was part of a struggle within the Russian system.”
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