Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko each made use of speeches to the military to shed a little more light on the intent of the then old ally of the Kremlin leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin.
While the Russian autocrat admitted the funding of the Wagner group and praised the soldiers for having “fought a civil war”, the Belarusian autocrat took credit for ending the rebellion, while not conveying a sympathetic image of Putin. With the confirmed departure of the head of mercenaries to Belarus, neighboring countries are concerned.
The Russian president felt the need to communicate again, the day after having denounced a “betrayal” and at the same time having forgiven her – something unheard of. In a rare open-air speech, Putin thanked the men gathered in the Kremlin cathedral square for their role – “indeed, you fought the civil war” – and paid tribute to the 13 air force men who died as a result of the six helicopters and of a plane were shot down during the “march for justice” of the Wagner group.
In addition, the Russian leader took the opportunity to convey the message that Yevgeny Prigozhin – always without saying his name – did not win the support of the army or the population. “The people who were drawn into the rebellion saw that the army and the people were not with them,” he said.
Later, in a meeting with the military, the president again attacked his creation – Prigozhin – by saying that his finances would be investigated. “I want everyone to know this: Support for the Wagner group was fully provided by the state. I hope that, in the course of this work, nobody has stolen anything – or, shall we say, not stolen much – but we will certainly get to the bottom of the matter”, he assured. Earlier, he said the rebellion leader received the equivalent of 922 million euros in military catering contracts last year, while the Russian government spent as much to fund the mercenaries.
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