Biden Refutes Russian Claims: "Wagner Rebellion Incident Unrelated to the US"

U.S. President Joe Biden on the 26th (local time) flatly denied any U.S. involvement in the mutiny by the Russian mercenary company Wagner Group. This was a direct rebuttal of Russian claims that the West was investigating whether it was involved in the Wagner Group's rebellion.

President Biden stated this during a speech on ultra-high-speed internet construction at the White House, saying, "First, I want to say a few words about the situation that occurred in Russia." This is the first time President Biden has publicly commented on the Wagner Group mutiny.

He reaffirmed that immediately after the Wagner mutiny, he had phone calls with major European allied leaders such as those of France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, saying, "We convened key allies to make sure we were all on the same page." He also emphasized that at this meeting, he and the European leaders agreed to ensure that Russia would not have an excuse to blame the West for this incident. He stressed, "We made it clear that we have no involvement. This is part of their internal struggle within the Russian regime."

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

These remarks came shortly after Russian intelligence agencies announced they were investigating Western involvement in the incident, making it a public denial.

Additionally, President Biden confirmed that he had a lengthy phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He said, "I told him that no matter what happens in Russia, the United States will continue to support Ukraine's defense, sovereignty, and territorial integrity," adding, "We will continue to maintain contact with them." President Biden also mentioned that he plans to contact President Zelenskyy again late in the afternoon or on the morning of the 27th.

President Biden said, "We will continue to assess the aftermath of this incident and its impact on Russia and Ukraine." However, he added, "It is too early to draw clear conclusions about where this situation is headed. All ultimate outcomes remain to be seen." President Biden intends to closely coordinate and respond in cooperation with allies and partners regarding the future developments.

The head of the Russian mercenary company Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, issued his first public message since the armed rebellion on the 24th. In an 11-minute voice message released on Telegram that day, he claimed, "We started the march because of injustice," and stated that the goal of the 'March of Justice' was to avoid the destruction of the Wagner Group. He wanted to hold accountable those who made mistakes during the special military operation." He added, "We did not march to overthrow the Russian government," and "We turned back to avoid shedding Russian soldiers' blood."

The Wagner Group, led by Prigozhin, halted their advance and withdrew after one day of rebellion through mediation by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. The group decided to seek asylum in Belarus under conditions that Russia would not hold them accountable.

This incident has been widely regarded by major foreign media as a humiliation for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Amid the prolonged invasion of Ukraine, the mutiny by the Wagner Group, which played a vanguard role, revealed cracks, and a foreign leader had to step in to resolve a domestic Russian issue. However, Russian local media reported that President Putin returned to his usual duties the day after the mutiny ended.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.