Wagner Rebellion: In a major development on Saturday, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the private paramilitary group Wagner, announced the end of his operation to topple the Russian regime after signing an apparent agreement brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Although Prigozhin, a top and trusted aide of President Vladimir Putin, said his decision came to avoid “bloodshed” in the country, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Wagner’s boss had sought to avoid similar situations. Has signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense for ,
State news agency TASS quoted Peskov as saying, “An agreement was reached that the PMC Wagner troops would return to their camps and places of deployment. Some of them, if they wish to do so, will later sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense.” can do.” “This also applies to those fighters who have decided not to take part in this ‘armed rebellion’,” he added.
The rebellion ended within 24 hours
Significantly, Saturday saw a series of dramatic incidents in Russia after Prigozhin called for an uprising – with the latest incident publicly demonstrating the tussle between the country’s official and private armies. Subsequently, several videos showed Wagner fighters racing north in convoy, carrying tanks and armored trucks, and capturing the city of Rostov before storming the barricades set up to stop them. Later, several media reports also claimed that oil depots and important buildings were blown up by private armed groups.
Putin’s desperate call to Wagner
Amidst the dramatic situation, President Putin appeared on national television channels, where he said that the country was fighting against “some people” who had unfortunately called for an uprising against their own country. The Russian President condemned the actions of Wagner’s boss and called his statements a call for armed civil strife on Russian territory. “Prigozin’s statements and actions effectively call for an armed civil conflict on Russian territory and a back-stabbing of Russian soldiers fighting alongside pro-Nazi Ukrainian forces.”
“I appeal to the Russians, the military and law enforcement agencies and those who were pushed on the path of armed rebellion by deception and threats. Russia is fighting hard for its future, the entire military and information machine of the West. is directed against Russia,” he said. The Russian President stressed, “Any conflict during the period of the special operation must be abandoned, now the fate of our people is being decided. We suffered a betrayal, a betrayal of Russia because of excessive ambitions.” Happened.”
Criminal cases against Prigozhin will be dropped
According to the Russian state news agency, a criminal case was initiated against the founder of Wagner PMC on charges of organizing an armed insurrection after his Telegram channel published his claims that the Russian Ministry of Defense carried out airstrikes on PMC units. and called upon the supporters to rise against it. National government. Also, the news agency claimed that the ministry has denied the claims of occupying any military building. The ministry said the Russian military continues to conduct operations in the Special Military Operations Area.
However, after talks on Saturday night, the Kremlin said that all charges would be dropped. Peskov said the fighters would sign contracts with the Russian Defense Ministry and not face legal action for participating in the march, adding that the Kremlin has “always respected their heroic actions” on the front lines, reports CNN. has done”.