Prigozhin strikes defiant tone: My march a ‘masterclass’ in how to launch an invasion

Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin addressed on Monday the short-lived insurrection in which he led an armed march on Moscow over the weekend. He denied trying to overthrow the government, but he also struck a defiant tone bragging about how his revolt was a “master class” in how to launch an invasion.

Prigozhin said in a statement on Telegram: “We went to demonstrate our protest, not to overthrow the government of the country.”

“The purpose of the march was to prevent the destruction of PMC Wagner and to bring to justice those who, through their unprofessional actions, made a huge number of mistakes during the special military operation,” he said referring to Ministry of Defense leadership who he has long claimed bungled the invasion of Ukraine.

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The revolt marked the climax of Prigozhin's long and public feud with top Russian military brass – namely, defense minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov – over the conduct of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the treatment of his men, and most recently, over the ministry’s mandate that all volunteering forces sign contracts with it to acquire the legal status required to operate in Ukraine, which would have stripped him of his autonomy and control over his forces.

Prigozhin said if the Russian armed forces had the same level of training, readiness and morale Wagner forces had, they would have managed to wrap up the invasion of Ukraine within a day.

“We have demonstrated the level of organisation that the Russian army should have,” Prigozhin said, claiming that his forces crossed 780 kilometers overnight and were within 200 kilometers of Moscow. “We showed a master class in how February 24, 2022 should have looked like,” referring to the date of the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In the wake of Prigozhin’s brief revolt, Russian leadership swiftly moved to project a semblance of stability, calm, and control. Putin had stressed in an address to the nation the importance of unity and patriotism in the face of enemy attempts to destabilize the country and fracture its society. While, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu made his first public appearance since the mutiny in a video where he visited Russian troops in Ukraine.

Also, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov took part in a high profile and well publicized interview in which he made statements carefully crafted to downplay the scale and impact of the incident, emphasizing the Russian state's robustness and resilience in the face of challenges.

Overall, top Russian leadership used every instrument in their toolbox to create an image of unyielding authority, promote national unity, and to affirm their control over the country's security apparatus.

Read more:

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

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