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Russian President Vladimir Putin has formally addressed the weekend’s “military-coup-that-wasn’t-a-coup”, describing the events as criminal in nature benefiting the countries’ enemies.
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Russian private military company Wagner Group took control of the city of Rostov-on-Don and marched military convoys within 200 kilometres of Moscow in extraordinary scenes over the weekend.
The “march for justice” was led by Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin in retribution against Russian military command allegedly firing on and restricting ammunition to Wagner Group soldiers in Ukraine. Russian military forces enacted armed checkpoints and demolition of roads on the southern areas of Moscow to stop the advance.
The botched rebellion flatlined on Sunday with Prigozhin agreeing to relocate to Russian-allied Belarus in exchange for having all charges dropped against him, on the advice of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
“I will emphasise that all necessary decisions to neutralise the emerged threat and protect the constitutional system, the life and security of our citizens were made instantly, from the very beginning of the events,” President Putin said in a national address on 27 June.
“An armed mutiny would have been suppressed in any event. Mutiny plotters, despite the loss of adequacy, were bound to realise that.
“They understood everything, including the fact that their actions were criminal in nature, aimed at polarising people and weakening the country, which is currently countering an enormous external threat and unprecedented pressure from the outside.”
Wagner Group troops who did not take part in the action will reportedly be offered Russian Defense Ministry contracts, while other Wagner troops will travel back to their field camps in Ukraine.
President Putin described the actions over the weekend as a betrayal of leadership and country benefiting the enemies of Russia.
“They wanted Russian soldiers to kill each other; they wanted the military and civilians to die; they wanted Russia to lose eventually, and our society to break up and perish in a bloody feud,” he said.
“They were rubbing their hands together and dreaming of revenge for their failures at the frontline and in the course of the so-called counteroffensive, but they miscalculated.”
US President Joe Biden said the US national security team has been monitoring the situation closely but advised allies not to give President Putin an excuse to blame the coup on the US or NATO.
“I instructed them to prepare for a range of scenarios. It’s critical that we’re coordinated in our response and coordinating what we anticipate,” he said.
“We made clear, that we are not involved. We had nothing to do with it; this was part of a struggle within the Russian system.
“We’re going to keep assessing the fallout of this weekend’s events and the implications from Russia and Ukraine. But it’s still too early to reach a definitive conclusion about where this is going.”
A statement from the People’s Republic of China Foreign Ministry Spokesperson said the actions taken by Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin and all Wagner forces were an internal affair.
“This is Russia’s internal affair. As Russia’s friendly neighbour and comprehensive strategic partner of coordination for the new era, China supports Russia in maintaining national stability and achieving development and prosperity,” the spokesperson said.
