Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the nation Saturday and vowed to defend the country
and its people from an armed rebellion declared by mercenary chief
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the New York Times reported.
اضافة اعلان
Putin said the mutiny
amounted to “a deadly threat to our statehood” and vowed “tough actions” in
response. “All those who prepared the rebellion will suffer inevitable
punishment. The armed forces and other government agencies have received the
necessary orders,” Putin said.
He called Prigozhin’s
actions, without referring to the owner of the Wagner private military company
by name, “a betrayal” and “a treason.” He urged “those who are being dragged
into this crime not to make a fatal and tragic, unique mistake, to make the
only right choice — to stop participating in criminal acts.”
Those who carry deliberately on a path of treason, preparing an armed rebellion when you were preparing terrorist attacks, will be punished,
Putin condemned the
rebellion at a time when Russia was “fighting the toughest battle for its
future” with its
war in Ukraine. “The entire military, economic,
and information machine of the West is waged
against us,” Putin said.
What happened?
The dramatic turn of
events began on Friday when Prigozhin openly accused Russia’s military of
attacking a
Wagner camp and killing a “huge amount” of his men.
He vowed to retaliate
with force, insinuating that his forces would “destroy” any resistance,
including roadblocks and aircraft, according to CNN.
“There are 25,000 of
us and we are going to find out why there is such chaos in the country,” he
said.
Prigozhin later rowed
back on his threat, saying his criticism of the Russian military leadership was
a “march of justice” and not a coup — but by that point, he appears to have
already crossed a line with the Kremlin.
The crisis then
deepened as Prigozhin declared his fighters had entered Russia’s Rostov region
and occupied key military installations within its capital. That city,
Rostov-on-Don, is the headquarters for Russia’s southern military command and
home to some one million people.
Prigozhin released a
video saying his forces would blockade Rostov-on-Don unless Defense Minister
Sergei Shoigu and Russia’s top general Valery Gerasimov come to meet him.
Prigozhin has spent
months railing against Shoigu and Gerasimov who he blames for Moscow’s
faltering invasion of Ukraine.
Hours later Putin made
an address to the nation that illustrated the depth of the crisis he now
confronts.
“Those who carry deliberately
on a path of treason, preparing an armed rebellion when you were preparing
terrorist attacks, will be punished,” Putin said.
‘Informational
propaganda’
“Any internal turmoil
is a deadly threat to our statehood for us as a nation; it is a blow to Russia
for our people and our actions to protect our homeland. Such a threat will face
a severe response,” he added.
Russia’s Defense
Ministry denied attacking Wagner’s troops, calling the claim “informational
propaganda”.
And the Federal
Security Service, Russia’s internal security force, also opened a criminal case
against Prighozhin, accusing him of calling for “an armed rebellion,” according
to CNN.
Russian officials
meanwhile appeared to take no chances with security measures stepping up in Moscow,
according to Russian state media TASS.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Saturday on Telegram that “anti-terrorist” measures to strengthen
security were being carried out in the capital as a result of “incoming
information.”
Social media posts
showed military vehicles were seen driving around the main streets of the
Russian capital in the early hours of Saturday.
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