Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the Nation by revealing the “treason” of the paramilitary group Wagner in Russia. He promised a “relentless” response against the perpetrators of what he called a “stab in the back”.
“What we are facing is nothing but betrayal. A betrayal caused by excessive ambitions and personal interests,” declared the Russian President during an address to the Nation.
Shaken by a rebellion by the paramilitary group Wagner, Putin, who is going through a war with Ukraine, said he gave orders to stabilize the situation.
The head of the Wagner Group in Russia, Evgeny Prigojine, has announced that he has taken control of the city of Rostov-on-Don. In a series of audio messages, he had called for an uprising against the Russian command.
Evguéni Prigojine also accused the army of having bombed military camps of the Wagner group.
On Saturday, he announced that his forces deployed in Ukraine returned to Rostov, where the headquarters of the Russian army’s southern command is located. He claimed it was not a “military coup”.
Yevgeny Prigojine says he is “ready to die” with his 25,000 men to “liberate the Russian people”, but the Russian general prosecutor’s office has announced the opening of an investigation for “armed mutiny” against Yevgeny Prigojine.
In an address to the Nation, President Vladimir Putin promised he would not let a “civil war” happen and called for “unity” while promising that the rebels will be “inevitably punished”.
Calling Wagner’s rebellion a ‘deadly threat’, he accused Yevgeny Prigozhin of having ‘betrayed’ Russia because of his ‘excessive ambitions’ and ‘personal interests’