His current whereabouts are still unknown. Vladimir Putin met with the leader of the paramilitary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigoyine, in the Kremlin on June 29, a few days after his failed uprising, the Russian presidency announced on Monday. The meeting lasted “almost three hours,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that 35 people attended, including “all the commanders and leaders” of the Wagner group.
“The (Russian) President gave his assessment of” Wagner’s activities on the Ukrainian front, Mr. Peskov stated, as well as “his assessment of the events of June 24,” the date of the group’s uprising.
“Fight for the Fatherland”
Vladimir Putin “listened to the statements of the commanders (von Wagner) and offered them alternatives for their future work and deployment for military purposes,” the Russian presidential spokesman said.
“The commanders (von Wagner) presented their version of the facts. They emphasized that they are staunch supporters and soldiers of the Head of State and Commander-in-Chief (Vladimir Putin) and reiterated that they are ready to continue fighting for the Fatherland,” he continued.
The Kremlin was responding to an article published on Friday by the French daily Liberation, which alleged, based on Western intelligence sources, that Yevgeny Prigoyine was being held in the Kremlin, where he had been summoned along with his main commanders.
Flash Rebellion
Wagner’s June 24 uprising shook Russian power amid conflict in Ukraine. For several hours, Wagner’s fighters occupied a Russian army headquarters in Rostov-on-Don (south-west) and traveled several hundred kilometers towards Moscow.
The mutiny ended on the evening of June 24 with a deal that provided for Prigozhin’s departure for Belarus, although his exact whereabouts have since been unknown. He has not spoken publicly since June 26.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said last Thursday that Yevgeny Prigoyine is still “free” in Russia, although the agreement provided for his departure to Belarus.
Yevgeny Prigoyine assured that his uprising was not intended to overthrow power, but to save Wagner from being dismantled by the Russian general staff, whom for months he had vehemently accused of incompetence in the conflict in Ukraine.