In his first address after the Wagner rebellion that briefly shook Russia to its core, President Vladimir Putin late Monday night claimed that the uprising was “doomed to fail” adding that the country showed “unity” in the face of a “treacherous” rebellion, reported The Guardian. He accused the leaders of last weekend's mutiny of wanting "to see Russia choked in bloody strife" and vowed to bring the organisers of the attack ‘to justice’, the report added.
In an unscheduled late-night televised address late, Putin said: “Any blackmail or way to bring confusion to Russia is doomed to failure … I made steps to avoid large-scale bloodshed.”
The Russian president thanked Wagner fighters and commanders who he said had stood down to avoid bloodshed. Nowhere he mentioned Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, but said that the organisers of the mutiny “betrayed their country, their people”. According to The Guardian, he said that the enemies of Russia “wanted Russian soldiers to kill each other, to kill military personnel and civilians, so that in the end Russia would lose, and our society would split, choke in bloody civil strife”.
Putin also confirmed the reports that Russian pilots were killed during the failed mutiny, paying tribute to the dead. “The courage and self-sacrifice of the fallen heroes-pilots saved Russia from tragic devastating consequences,” he said, as quoted by The Guardian.
BBC reported that Putin argued that his own management of the crisis had averted disaster. He also said that he would keep his promise to allow Wagner troops who did not "turn to fratricidal blood" to leave for Belarus.
"I thank those soldiers and commanders of the Wagner Group who made the only right decision - they did not turn to fratricidal bloodshed, they stopped at the last line," he said.
He added, "Today, you have the opportunity to continue your service for Russia by signing a contract with the [Ministry of Defence] or other military and law enforcement structures, or to go back to your family and close ones. Those who want can leave for Belarus. The promise that I gave, will be fulfilled."
The Russian President said "steps were taken to avoid a lot of bloodshed" at the very beginning of the mutiny, and that its organisers "realised their actions were criminal".
Putin also president Belarusian President leader Alexander Lukashenko, who is said to have brokered the deal to end the mutiny, for his efforts to resolve the situation peacefully.
“The majority of Wagner commanders and fighters are patriots. They were used covertly against their brothers-in-arms,” he said.
Shortly after Putin’s address, the Kremlin released a video showing the Russian president meeting the head of Russia’s main domestic security service, including defence minister Sergei Shoigu. Notably, it was Shoigu whom Prigozhin had vowed to remove during his rebellion.
Putin’s unscheduled appearance came just hours after Prigozhin issued an 11-minute statement in which he defended the Wagner uprising and denied that he had sought to topple the Russian president, the Guardian mentioned in the report.