Putin promises to brutally punish the traitor Prigoschin and his Wagner mercenary

24. Juni 2023

Sophie Müller

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Vladimir Putin has promised to punish Jewgeni Prigoschin and his Wagner mercenaries "brutally" because they have started an armed uprising.

In his first speech, since Mr. Prigoschin announced an attack on the Russian military on Friday evening, Mr. Putin said that he had ordered his security services to take the "traitor".

"Anyone who deliberately treads the path of betrayal who is prepared for armed mutiny and receives blackmail and terrorist actions is inevitably punished," he said.

Mr. Putin avoided Mr. Prigoschin in his six -minute speech in the Kremlin, and instead appealed directly to his armed forces and the simple Russians, the rebels that have "betrayed" Russia.

"Crucial, tragic, irretrievable error"

"Those who were drawn into the crime, I ask you not to make this decisive, tragic and irretrievable mistake," he said.

"Make the right choice and stop participating in criminal acts."

The video address of Mr. Putin was held at 11 a.m., about twelve hours after Mr. Prigoschin, the former loyal leader of his Wagner mercenary unit, had declared an uprising against the Russian military chief.

Mr. Prigozhin was later filmed in the center of Rostow, a city in southern Russia that used the Russian military as a command center for his invasion in Ukraine. He said that his armed forces had conquered important strategic and military locations and marched on Moscow.

Wagner fighter on a tank in the city of Rostow am Don, Russia, on Saturday

A visibly tired and shaken Mr. Putin said in his video that it was a "complicated situation" about Rostow, but he ordered his security services to recapture the locations lost to the rebels.

"As President of Russia and Commander -in -Chief, as a citizen of Russia, I will do everything I can to defend the country, to protect the constitution, the life and security and the freedom of our citizens," he said.

Mr. Putin referred to the historical awareness and the place of the Russians in the world to drive his invasion in Ukraine since February 2022, and described it as an existential struggle for survival. In his video address against the rebels, he used a similar language.

"We are fighting for the life and security of our people. For our sovereignty and independence," he said. "The right to stay as Russia, a state with a 1000-year history."

"rebels become weaker"

In his speech, Mr. Putin also said that Mr. Prigoschin and his rebels weaken Russia and that NATO and the government in Kiev would welcome the uprising because he impaired the ability of Russia to wage war in Ukraine.

"Our outer enemies use all the arguments to undermine us from the inside," he said.

"That is why there are actions that split our unity, a betrayal of our people, our combat brothers who are now fighting at the front. It is a dagger in the back of our country and our people."

Ukraine started its much -touted counter -offensive at the beginning of the month and exerted pressure on Russian units along its front line in Ukraine. According to reports from Ukraine, these attacks strengthened after Mr. Prigozhin began.

Source: The Telegraph