Putin makes first on-camera remarks about rebellion

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday made his first on-camera remarks after a short-lived rebellion led by Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.

“Any kind of blackmail is doomed to failure,” Putin said in the video, per translations from NBC News. He also called the Wagner mercenaries’ rebellion a “colossal threat” and said it “is precisely what the neo-Nazis in Kyiv and the West wanted.”

Prigozhin on Friday launched an armed rebellion demanding the ouster of Russia’s defense minister. Wagner fighters seized Russia’s southern-region military headquarters and began moving toward Moscow — but the Wagner chief on Saturday ordered his forces to stop the advance and said the troops would return to their bases to “avoid shedding Russian blood.” 

Prigozhin reportedly reached a deal with the Russian leadership, which was negotiated by Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko, and agreed to move to Belarus. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said charges against Prigozhin will be dropped and that his troops will also not face prosecution for their participation in the rebellion, according to Russian state-owned news agency TASS.

Putin, who called the rebellion an “armed mutiny” Monday, also thanked Lukashenko for his role in the matter. He did not mention Prigozhin by name in the five-minute address to the nation.

“The organizers of this rebellion cannot but understand that they will be brought to justice. Everybody understands that. This is criminal activity, which is aimed at weakening the country. … This was a colossal threat. From outside, we are threatened,” Putin said.

The Russian leader also thanked members of the Wagner Group “who took the right decision to stop and go back and prevent bloodshed” and welcomed them to contact Russia’s defense ministry or return home. 

The brief rebellion has raised questions about Putin’s power within Russia and heightened concerns about stability in the region amid Russia’s 16-month war on neighboring Ukraine, where the Wagner Group had been fighting on Moscow’s behalf.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said over the weekend the rebellion shows “cracks in the Russian facade” and suggested it may present a “distraction” for Moscow leaders as Kyiv conducts a sweeping counteroffensive with Western backing.