Prigozhin Breaks Silence: "I Did Not Intend to Overthrow Putin Government"

Prigozhin's First Message After Rebellion Halt
"Holding Russian Officials Accountable for Mistakes"
Putin: "Rebellion Leaders Betrayed the Motherland"

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Russian mercenary company Wagner Group, delivered his first public message two days after the failure of the armed rebellion.

On the 26th (local time), according to AFP and other sources, Prigozhin released an 11-minute voice message via Telegram.

He explained the background of the rebellion, saying, "We started the march due to injustice," and "No one agreed to a contract with the Ministry of Defense, and the Wagner Group was not supposed to exist after July 1." Earlier, the Russian Ministry of Defense had instructed mercenary companies including the Wagner Group to formally contract with the Ministry of Defense and operate by July 1. However, Prigozhin opposed this.

Prigozhin claimed, "We did not march to overthrow the Russian government," and "We marched to destroy the Wagner Group and hold accountable the officials who made mistakes through unprofessional military actions and decisions in the Ukraine war."

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Russian mercenary company Wagner Group, which launched an armed rebellion, is expressing his position through a Telegram message in Rostov-on-Don, southern Russia.
[Image source=AP News]
Photo by AP

He also asserted, "This march revealed serious security problems in Russia." He added, "We did not show any intention to attack, but we were attacked by missiles and helicopters from the Russian military, which became the signal for the march," and expressed regret, saying, "It is unfortunate that we had to attack Russian aircraft."

Previously, the Wagner Group, which played a vanguard role in the invasion of Ukraine, launched an armed rebellion by advancing toward Moscow, the Russian capital, on the 24th. However, after one day of rebellion, they stopped their advance and withdrew through mediation by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

Putin: "Threats and chaos are doomed to fail"

Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting on the 13th (local time) in Moscow with domestic media war correspondents, military bloggers, and Telegram channel operators.
[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the recent rebellion was ultimately destined to fail. This was the first time Putin commented on the rebellion.

In a televised speech that night, he stated, "This situation showed that all threats and chaos are doomed to fail." He emphasized, "From the beginning of the incident, all necessary decisions were immediately made to eliminate the threat and protect the constitution and the lives and safety of citizens," and claimed, "The armed rebellion would have been suppressed under any circumstances."

Targeting Prigozhin, who led the rebellion, Putin criticized, "The instigator of the rebellion wanted soldiers to kill each other. Ukraine also wanted the same outcome," and said, "The instigator betrayed the motherland and his followers." Regarding the background that allowed the Wagner Group to advance close to Moscow, he explained, "From the early stages of the incident, I ordered measures to avoid bloodshed."

'Putin's Chef' Prigozhin, Conflict with Russian Military During the Capture of Bakhmut

Meanwhile, Prigozhin, known as a petty criminal involved in fraud and prostitution mediation, served his sentence in the 1980s and started a food service business after his release, which led to his connection with President Putin.

Expanding his business by running a restaurant in Saint Petersburg frequently visited by President Putin, he earned the nickname "Putin's Chef" by managing dinners for Putin and banquets held at the Kremlin.

He began to establish his influence in Russia in earnest after founding the mercenary company Wagner Group in 2014. The Wagner Group supported the Russian government by engaging in combat operations during Russia's annexation of Crimea and the pro-Russian conflicts in Ukraine's Donbas (Donetsk and Luhansk) regions.

When Russia invaded Ukraine last year and the war broke out, the Wagner Group quickly deployed troops to the Donbas region.

In particular, Prigozhin contributed to Russia's control of Bakhmut, which became a fierce battleground. After announcing the capture of Bakhmut on the 24th of last month, he proceeded with the process of handing over the area to the Russian regular army and withdrawing. However, it is known that Prigozhin experienced serious conflicts with the Russian military command during the intense battles in Bakhmut.

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