Putin issues first statement since Wagner mutiny, congratulates industrial forum participants

Moscow lifted an “anti-terrorist” security regime it had imposed over the weekend when mutinous Wagner mercenaries threatened to storm the city

A pro-Kremlin activist holds a flag with an image of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the words in Russian ‘For the Motherland, for the sovereignty, for the Putin’, near the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia on June 25, 2023. | Photo Credit: AP

Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 26 issued via the Kremlin website his first statement since an armed mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group, congratulating participants of an industrial forum.

It was not immediately clear when or where Mr. Putin’s statement was recorded.

Mr. Putin made a national address to the Russian people on Saturday condemning the mutiny by Wagner mercenaries as a “stab in the back” and vowing to crush it.

He has not commented publicly on the subsequent deal, announced late on Saturday, that appeared to defuse the crisis and avert possible bloodshed.

Rebels stand down

Earlier today, the Russian capital Moscow lifted an “anti-terrorist” security regime it had imposed over the weekend when mutinous Wagner mercenaries threatened to storm the city.

The city’s mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, announced the decision on his Telegram account, thanking Muscovites for their “calm and understanding” during the crisis.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu also made his first public appearance since the mercenary uprising that demanded his ouster, inspecting troops in Ukraine in a video released by his ministry.

The rebellion ended on Saturday when Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin ordered his troops back. The Kremlin said it had made a deal that the mercenary chief would move to Belarus and receive an amnesty, along with his soldiers.

The mutiny marked the biggest challenge to President Vladimir Putin in the 20-plus years of his rule

(With agency inputs)