In a televised address on Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he has instructed his country’s armed forces to put down the “armed rebellion” of the Russian paramilitary Wagner Group led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, alleging treason.
“The one who organized and prepared the military rebellion, who raised arms against his comrades-in-arms, betrayed Russia. And they will answer for it,” Putin said.
Without naming Prigozhin directly, Putin charged that his “exorbitant ambitions and personal interests led to treason.”
Putin said he issued additional antiterrorist measures in Moscow, the Moscow region, and other parts of Russia, adding that actions needed to be taken to stabilize the situation in the southern Russian city of Rostov.
“This is a stab in the back of our country and our people,” he said. “All those who deliberately embarked on the path of betrayal, who prepared an armed rebellion, embarked on the path of blackmail and terrorist methods, will suffer inevitable punishment.”
Putin’s address came after Prigozhin on Friday released a series of audio messages blaming the Russian military for an apparent attack on Wagner’s forces. The Wagner Group has played a critical role on behalf of Russia in its war with Ukraine.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Wagner’s forces took control of the main military headquarters for southern Russia in Rostov and didn’t encounter much resistance from Russia’s military. Later on Saturday, Prigozhin said his troops would stop marching towards Moscow and return to their bases to avoid bloodshed, according to multiple reports.
“Russia’s weakness is obvious,” Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky had tweeted earlier in the day.
—Matt Peterson contributed to this article.
Write to Tae Kim at [email protected]
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