Calling the perpetrators of the weekend uprising “enemies of Russia and neo-nazis,” Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday emphasized the role of the country’s unity in defeating the uprising led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the mercenary Wagner Group.
In a five-minute-long televised address, Putin extolled Russian patriotism as the reason for the quick end to the burgeoning coup attempt, saying it would have been suppressed if it had continued.
“I thank all our military personnel, law enforcement officers, and special servicemen who stood in the path of the rebels, remained faithful to their duty, oath, and their people,” Putin said in his first appearance since the rebellion ended. “The Russian society made a decisive step and made it possible for us together to overcome a most difficult situation.’’
Putin also thanked most of the mercenaries for not letting the situation deteriorate into “bloodshed,” saying many of them were loyal Russians who were misled, apparently putting most of the blame on Prigozhin, his former ally who accepted a deal to flee to Belarus.
“We knew and know that the overwhelming majority of the fighters and commanders of the Wagner group are Russian patriots, devoted to their people and the state,” he said. “They proved it on the battlefield, liberating the Donbass and Novorossiya.”
Earlier Monday, Prigozhin had issued his first statement since an aborted weekend march on Moscow, saying he halted his campaign because he didn’t want to spill Russian blood and because the goal was protest, not regime change.
Prigozhin did not take responsibility for killing more than a dozen pilots and other Russians during his brief revolt, saying they attacked his troops. And he said that if Russian troops had marched on the first day of invading Ukraine as far as his Wagner troops marched in 24 hours, the war that has stretched to more than 16 months would have ended in one day.
“We started our march because of an injustice,” Prigozhin said in an 11-minute video statement. He said his troops were met with cheering crowds waving the flag of his Wagner Group fighters.
Prigozhin’s march began Friday and ended the next day when a deal was brokered by Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko. Under the deal, Prigozhin would go to Belarus and neither he nor his troops would face treason or other charges. Russia’s RIA Novosti state news agency, however, cited unidentified sources in the prosecutor general’s office as saying the criminal case against Prigozhin hasn’t been closed.
Prigozhin and his mercenary troops, estimated at up to 50,000 soldiers, have been the point of the spear in Russia’s attempt to gain territory in the hotly contested Donbas region of Ukraine. But Prigozhin has routinely blasted Russia’s military leaders for failing to provide sufficient support and for what he viewed as poor performance of regular troops.
The fissures in Russia’s military are widening as Ukraine gains momentum with its counteroffensive. In three weeks, Ukraine has recaptured about 115 square miles of land Russia had occupied − more territory than Russia seized in its entire winter offensive, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said Monday.
Kremlin couldn’t respond:Russian coup could have reached Moscow outskirts without deal, experts say
Will Putin keep his grip on power?Coup attempt dials up pressure over Ukraine war
President Joe Biden, in his first public remarks on the situation in Russia, said the U.S. had nothing to do with the rebellion and that it is “too early” to determine what impact it will have. Biden said when the uprising began, he directed his national security team to report back to him “hour by hour” and to “prepare for a range of scenarios,” which he did not detail. Biden said he also took part in a video call with key U.S. allies.
“They agreed with me that we had to make sure we gave Putin no excuse … to blame this on the West or to blame this on NATO,” Biden said. “We made clear that we were not involved, we had nothing to do with it. This was part of a struggle within the Russian system.”
At a White House press briefing, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby declined to say whether the U.S. would prefer Putin or Prigozhin running Russia, saying that’s for Russians to decide.
Asked about Biden’s comment in Poland last year that Putin cannot remain in power, Kirby replied: “Regime change is not our policy. We’ve been very, very clear about that. What we’re focused on is making sure Ukraine can succeed on the battlefield.”
− Francesca Chambers
‘Not a lot of good guys in this scenario’
Jeff Levine, a former U.S. ambassador to anxious Russian neighbor Estonia, told USA TODAY the insurrection undoubtedly weakens Putin’s regime but also puts Prigozhin at risk, regardless of any amnesty guarantees he was given.
“Putin is not a guy to forgive and forget,” Levine said. “I’m sure the wheels are turning to punish Prigozhin and further neutralize him.”
A key question, Levine said, is what happens to the Wagner Group’s military capabilities. It seems unlikely Putin can effectively pull them into the regular forces and keep them happy. A group of disgruntled mercenaries won’t help the Russian cause. And because the insurrection ended so quickly, it’s not clear where public support in Russia stands.
What is apparent, Levine said, is that neither Putin nor Prigozhin had enough support to bring people into the streets.
“The lack of obvious public support for Putin is not good news for him,” Levine said, adding that Prigozhin “is not a hero. There aren’t a lot of good guys in this scenario.”
Ex-Russian diplomat: Despite deal, Prigozhin’s life is in danger
A former Russian diplomat who resigned from his U.N. post last year in protest of the war says Putin’s grip on power had been significantly damaged by the aborted weekend uprising − and that Prigozhin should fear for life despite a deal allowing him to flee to Belarus.
Boris Bondarev made global news in May 2022 when he announced his opposition to the war and defected. He told Australia’s ABC TV in an interview Monday that Putin is likely to seek revenge against Prigozhin for the brief march toward Moscow.
“It damages Putin’s image as a decisive (leader) who might crush anybody,” Bondarev said. “So I believe that Prigozhin has a lot of reasons to be very much concerned about his life now because I don’t think Putin may easily forgive this.”
Bondarev said that Putin’s inner circle is shrinking and that most people inside the Kremlin do not support the war. Bondarev, who now lives in Switzerland, says he was not surprised Prigozhin was able to easily take over military outposts at the start of his march. Russian military leaders are incapable of independent thinking, which Putin views as a threat to his iron-fisted rule, the former diplomat said.
“No initiative, no decision of their own,” he said. “So when a crisis arises, nobody knows what to do. Nobody wants to take any responsibility.”
US told Russian officials it had nothing to do with coup, Kremlin says
Russian special services are investigating whether Western intelligence services were involved in the coup, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday. Lavrov provided no evidence of Western involvement.
Lavrov, in an interview with the Russian media outlet RT, also said the U.S. ambassador to Russia, Lynn Tracy, indicated to Russian officials that Washington had nothing to do with the rebellion. Tracy expressed concern for the safety of U.S. diplomats in Russia and for the security of nuclear weapons, Lavrov said.
“It was especially emphasized that the United States proceeds from the fact that everything that happens is an internal affair of the Russian Federation,” the foreign minister said.
Prigozhin wanted autonomy, top general fired
The Russian opposition publication Meduza says Prigozhin’s demands were considered vague and strange by Kremlin officials who negotiated with him in the hours after the ill-fated coup began Friday. Prigozhin wanted Defense Minister Gen. Sergei Shoigu fired, autonomy over Wagner’s affairs and more funding. But after an armed rebellion, there was no longer a place in the system for him, Meduza experts said.
The outlet said Prigozhin reportedly tried to call Putin on Saturday, but the president didn’t want to speak with him. Meduza surmised that Prigozhin probably realized that “he’d gone too far” and that the support he expected from rank-and-file Russian soldiers was not materializing.
Contributing: Miles J. Herszenhorn, The Associated Press
