President Vladimir Putin has paid tribute to pilots killed in the short-lived mutiny by the Wagner Group and expressed his thanks to those who opposed the rebellion in his first public comments since Saturday’s revolt was ended.
“The courage and self-sacrifice of the fallen heroes-pilots saved Russia from tragic, devastating consequences,” Putin said in an address broadcast on state television late on Monday night.
There has been no official information about how many pilots died or how many aircraft were shot down.
“I thank all the soldiers and intelligence-service staff who stood in the way of the mutineers,” the president said, adding that everything possible was done on his orders to avoid bloodshed.
He also thanked Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko for mediating with Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin to call off the armed group’s advance on Moscow.
Putin – without mentioning Prigozhin by name – thanked the mercenary commanders and soldiers who avoided bloodshed, and said he would honour his promise to allow Wagner forces to relocate to Belarus if they wanted, sign a contract with Russia’s defence ministry or return to their families.
All attempts to sow chaos in Russia were destined to fail, the president said. He blamed “Russia’s enemies” and said they “miscalculated”.
“The organisers of the mutiny who betrayed the country also betrayed those who were on their side,” said Putin, who later met Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, the head of Russia’s main domestic security service and other top ministers, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Russia analyst Pavel Felgenhauer described Putin’s comments as a “victory speech directed towards the Russian public”.
“Of course this doesn’t mean that problems have dissipated. It’s not fine actually because Putin called on the Wagner fighters to join the defence ministry – and they’re not doing it,” he told Al Jazeera.
“They are still there with their weapons, they are well organised, they’re the best fighting force in the land right now. And what will be their next move is not clear. Right now, they most likely feel threatened. They didn’t disappear.”
Source: Al Jazeera
BDST: 1020 HRS, JUNE 27, 2023
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