Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday accused Ukraine and its Western allies of wanting Russians to kill each other during a revolt by the Wagner group.
Putin said this in his first address to the nation since the rebels pulled back. He said that he had issued orders to avoid bloodshed.
Putin said that amnesty was granted to the Wagner fighters, whose mutiny served up the greatest challenge yet to his two-decade rule. He added that Wagner fighters could choose whether to join the Russian army or leave for Belarus, or even return to their homes. Putin also paid tributes to pilots who were killed during the failed weekend mutiny.
He thanked his security officials for their work during the armed rebellion. Meanwhile, Despite the deal to end the Wagner mutiny, Yevgeny Prigozhin remains under investigation for trying to organise an armed rebellion. Prigozhin has said in an audio message that the move was a protest against Russia’s military leadership and not an attempted coup.
Earlier, United States President Joe Biden said that Washington and NATO had no involvement in the Wagner uprising. According to the State Department, US Ambassador Lynne Tracy had directly contacted Russia and made it clear that the US was not involved.