Putin presents Wagnerites with options: Join army, go back home or go to Belarus

Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered on Monday his first address since the short-lived insurrection led by Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin over the weekend. He said Wagner members who took part in the mutiny can either join the army or go back home to their families or go to Belarus.

“We know that the vast majority of the fighters and commanders of the Wagner group are also Russian patriots, devoted to their people and state. They proved it with their courage on the battlefield [in Ukraine],” Putin said.

He addressed Wagner forces saying: “Today you have the opportunity to continue serving Russia by signing a contract with the ministry of defense or other law enforcement agencies, or to return to your family and friends.”

He added: “Whoever wants to can go to Belarus. The promise I made will be fulfilled. I repeat, the choice is yours, but I am sure it will the choice of Russian soldiers who have realized their tragic mistake.”

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Putin said he gave orders to avoid bloodshed from the outset of the revolt: “From the very beginning of the events, on my direct instructions, steps were taken to avoid a lot of bloodshed. This took time, including to give those who made a mistake a chance to think again, to understand that their actions are resolutely rejected by society, and to what tragic, destructive consequences for Russia, for our state, the adventure in which they were dragged leads.”

He also accused Ukraine and the West of wanting to see “Russian soldiers killing each other.” He said: “They rubbed their hands, dreaming of taking revenge for their failures at the front and during the so-called counter-offensive, but they miscalculated.”

He praised the nation’s sense of patriotic duty: “This civic solidarity has shown that any blackmail, any attempt to create internal turmoil is doomed to failure.”

Putin also saluted the army, defense and security personnel: “I thank all our military personnel, law enforcement officers, special services who stood in the way of the rebels, remained faithful to their duty, oath and their people. The courage and self-sacrifice of the fallen heroes-pilots saved Russia from tragic devastating consequences.”

While he did not specifically mention Prigozhin, he said: “The organizers of the [armed] rebellion, betrayed their country, their people, betrayed those who were drawn into the crime. They lied to them, pushed them to death, under fire, to shoot at their own.”

Prigozhin started a brief revolt over the weekend which swiftly ended with him calling off his Wagner forces’ march on Moscow after agreeing to a deal which would see him exiled in Belarus without any legal action taken against him in Russia. He said in his first remarks since the aborted revolt that the march was a “demonstration” not an attempted coup.

“The purpose of the march was to prevent the destruction of Wagner group… We went to demonstrate our protest, not to overthrow the government of the country,” Prigozhin said in a statement on Telegram.

Prigozhin’s mutiny had a resounding impact within Russia and internationally as well. The general consensus amongst politicians and analysts is that the mutiny had weakened Putin and raised questions about his ruling with an iron fist at a critical time when his forces confront an intense counter-offensive in Ukraine.

Read more:

Prigozhin in first remarks since Wagner mutiny: It was a demonstration not to a coup

UK's Cleverly: Prigozhin’s revolt an ‘unprecedented challenge’ to Putin’s authority

Russia investigating if Western spy agencies were involved in Wagner mutiny: Lavrov