Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) on Sunday said it wasn’t a surprise that Russian President Vladimir Putin would face an armed rebellion from the Wagner Group, characterizing it as “thugs dealing with thugs.”
In an interview with Fox News’s Shannon Bream on “Fox News Sunday,” Cardin addressed the dramatic rebellion staged by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a 62-year-old owner of the Wagner Group, which has led some of Russia’s deadliest battles in Ukraine.
Prigozhin over the weekend said his group of fighters crossed into Russia’s territory, reaching the town of Rostov before retreating.
Wagner has been assisting the Russian military in its full-scale invasion of Ukraine and was key to Russia capturing the city of Bakhmut last month, but tensions have been rising between the groups as Russia has struggled to make gains for months and is trying to fight off a Ukrainian counteroffensive.
Cardin echoed criticisms of Putin and the Wagner Group.
“Putin brought this upon himself doing business with the Wagner group. We know what they are. They’re thugs dealing with thugs. So this was not unexpected that a problem would develop,” Cardin told Bream.
Prigozhin dramatically escalated his criticism of Russia’s actions in the war and called for the ouster of the defense minister, before charging forward toward Moscow. Prigozhin stood down and agreed to move to Belarus the following day, but the appearance of internal strife has caused damage to Putin’s global posture.
The Wagner Group has been accused of committing acutely brutal human rights abuses throughout countries in Africa, including in the Central African Republic, in Mali and in Libya.