VIDEOS
1. Putin, Prigozhin speak out for the first time since Wagner revolt | DW News
DW News
4.64M subscribers
Jun 26, 2023 5:00 p.m. EDT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csRaxtBebsw
Russian President Vladimir Putin has addressed his country, thanking citizens for their unity, following the aborted revolt by the Wagner mercenary group. Putin said he would honor his promise to allow Wagner fighters to relocate to Belarus if they wanted - where Wagner’s commander Yevgeny Prigozhin is believed to be in exile.
Or Putin said soldiers could also sign a contract with the Russian Defense Ministry. He did not mention Prigozhin himself. Earlier the mercenary leader said his actions had highlighted weaknesses in Russia’s security. The man who launched an extraordinary revolt in Russia over the weekend and then suddenly called it off has spoken out.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner mercenary group, released a defiant 11-minute audio message on Monday justifying his actions. In it, he said he wanted to protest the Russian government, not overthrow it, and that his actions had highlighted the weakness in Russia’s security.
2. Coup in Russia: Why did Prigozhin back down?
Business Basics
799K subscribers
Jun 26, 2023 4:00 p.m. EDT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZqLJh4JSk4
ARTICLE
Wagner Group leader explains what Lukashenko offered him
Ukrainska Pravda
Monday, 26 June 2023, 18:22
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2023/06/26/7408636/
Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner Group leader, made his first public statement after the failed rebellion. In it, he reported on the offer received from Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko.
SOURCE: Prigozhin on Telegram
QUOTE: “Lukashenko extended his hand and offered to find solutions for the further work of Wagner Private Military Company in a legal jurisdiction.”
DETAILS: According to the chief of Wagner, Lukashenko turned to him with this proposal after Prigozhin decided to “stop the march to Moscow” in order “not to spill Russian blood”.
BACKGROUND:
• On the evening of 23 June, Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed that the regular Russian army had launched a missile strike on the Wagner mercenaries’ rear camps. He therefore deployed 25,000 of his mercenaries “to restore justice”.
• On the morning of 24 June, Prigozhin claimed that his forces had taken control of military facilities in Rostov-on-Don, and seized military facilities in the Russian city of Voronezh – and were headed “to Moscow” – and the capital of the Russian Federation was already preparing for defence.
• In an emergency address, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia was “fighting for survival” and that attempts were being made to “organise a rebellion” in the country. Ukrainian intelligence had information that Putin had urgently left Moscow for his residence in Valdai.
• On Saturday evening, after a conversation with self-proclaimed Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Prigozhin announced that his mercenaries were turning their convoys around and going back to set up field camps. Later, it was reported that the criminal case against Prigozhin is to be closed and he will “go to Belarus”.
• According to the Russian pro-war media and Telegram channels, during the mutiny, the Wagner Group fighters shot down an Il-22M aircraft (command post) and 6 helicopters of the Russian army, which killed 13 to 20 people. Also in Russia, 19 houses and roads were damaged by the march of Prigozhin’s private army.