Facing the first serious challenge to his grip on power of his 23-year rule, Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to crush the organizers of an armed rebellion spearheaded by mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin,
In a televised address on Saturday, Putin denounced the uprising as “a stab in the back” in a televised address on Saturday.
This is the biggest threat to his leadership in over two decades in power.
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Britain’s Ministry of Defense said Prigozhin’s private army appeared to control the military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don, a city 660 miles (over 1,000 kilometers) south of Moscow that runs Russian operations in Ukraine.
As the events unfolded rapidly in Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Moscow is suffering “full-scale weakness” and that Kyiv was protecting Europe from “the spread of Russian evil and chaos.”
In his speech, Putin called the actions by Prigozhin, whom he did not mention by name, a “betrayal” and “treason.”
“All those who prepared the rebellion will suffer inevitable punishment,” Putin said. “The armed forces and other government agencies have received the necessary orders.”
Prigozhin said his fighters would not surrender, as “we do not want the country to live on in corruption, deceit, and bureaucracy.”
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“Regarding the betrayal of the motherland, the president was deeply mistaken. We are patriots of our homeland,” he said in an audio message on his Telegram channel.
Prigozhin’s private army, known as Wagner, has been fighting alongside regular Russian troops in Ukraine. His goals weren’t immediately clear, but the rebellion marks an escalation in his struggle with Russian military leaders, whom he accused of botching the war in Ukraine and hobbling his forces in the field.
“This is not a military coup, but a march of justice,” Prigozhin said.
Prigozhin posted video of himself at the military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don and claimed his forces had taken control of the city’s airfield and other military facilities.
Other videos on social media showed military vehicles, including tanks, on the streets.
“We didn’t kill a single person on our way,” Prigozhin said in one of his several messages posted as the day went on, adding that his forces seized the military headquarters “without a single gunshot.” His claims could not be independently verified. The Russian authorities haven’t reported any casualties so far, either.
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