Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the meeting took place on June 29, five days after the uprising.
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin five days after the armed uprising. The report of the meeting was first released to journalists by Russian government spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday (July 10, 2023).
According to Peskov, Prigozhin and the top commanders of the paramilitary group met with Putin on June 29 at the Kremlin Palace in Moscow. A total of 35 people attended the meeting. The conversation lasted 3 hours. The information comes from Portal.
“The only thing we can say is that the president evaluated the performance of the group [Wagner] at the front during a special military operation [na Ucrânia] and also evaluated the events of June 24th [dia do motim]’ said Peskov.
In the war, the Wagner Group distinguished itself by fighting in the front lines in the main battles. The mercenaries were Russia’s main attacking force in the city of Bakhmut, the scene of the bloodiest skirmish in the war against Ukraine to date.
The Kremlin spokesman also stated that Putin heard the mercenaries’ statements about the rebellion, but did not elaborate.
“The commanders presented their version of events [em 24 de junho]. They stressed that they were loyal supporters and soldiers of the Head of State and CommanderinChief. They also said they were ready to keep fighting for their homeland,” he said.
Last Thursday (July 6), Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said the leader of the Wagner Group had returned to Russia after his exile in Belarus. According to Lukashenko, Prigozhin was in St. Petersburg and could have gone to Moscow.
Remember the uprising
The Wagner group began an uprising on June 23. At the time, Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed in a published video that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was deceiving President Vladimir Putin and the country’s people.
Wagner’s chief said there was still no reason for the Kremlin to invade Ukraine because neither Kiev nor NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) had threatened to attack Russia. Prigozhin explained that the aim of the war was to distribute Ukraine’s natural and industrial resources to the Russian elite.
Prigozhin accused Shoigu of bombing a camp belonging to the group stationed on the front lines of the war with Ukraine. In response, the paramilitary group seized control of the city of RostovonDon, near the border with Ukraine, and vowed to march on Moscow to overthrow the government, which it described as “a liar, corrupt and bureaucrat”.
On June 24, Russia introduced an antiterrorist protocol in the Russian capital region. The government also set up roadblocks to make it difficult for the mercenary group to get through.
Watch (1 min 16 sec):
However, the head of the Wagner group ordered the retreat of the mercenary troops heading towards the Russian capital. According to the Belarusian Foreign Ministry, after talks with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Prigozhin agreed to halt the advance on Russian territory. After that, the leader of the paramilitary group left the Russian city of RostovonDon and made his way to Belarus.
Watch the Moment (41s):
On the night of June 24, it was the turn of the Wagner Group mercenaries to leave Rostov and return to their bases. According to Prigozhin, the paramilitary community numbers more than 25,000 soldiers.
On June 26, Yevgeny Prigozhin said the rebellion was not aimed at overthrowing Putin’s government, but rather at preventing “the destruction” of the paramilitary group.
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