Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the nation Monday night for the first time since the Wagner mercenary group's failed mutiny on Saturday—and the New York Times reports that his "anger was palpable" as he denounced the leaders of the rebellion. "They wanted Russians to fight each other," he said. "They rubbed their hands, dreaming of taking revenge for their failures at the front and during the so-called counteroffensive. But they miscalculated." He said the "blackmail attempts" were "doomed to failure," per the Telegraph.
Putin—who did not mention Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin by name—claimed that "the entire Russian society united and rallied everyone," causing the rebellion to fail. He thanked Wagner commanders and fighters who stood down to avoid bloodshed and said he would keep his promise to allow them to sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense, go to Belarus, or simply return to their families, the BBC reports. He also thanked members of security services who "stayed loyal to their oath" and pilots who were killed during the rebellion.
"The majority of Wagner commanders and fighters are patriots," Putin said. "They were used covertly against their brothers-in-arms." Before Putin's speech, which lasted around five minutes, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the leader's remarks, "without exaggeration, will determine the fate of Russia." Earlier Monday, Prigozhin, whose whereabouts are unclear, said the group's advance on Moscow was a protest against plans to absorb Wagner into the military, not an attempt to "topple the government." But he also mocked the Russian military, saying the advance 500 miles toward Moscow was a "master class" on how it should have invaded Ukraine last year, the AP reports. (More Russia rebellion stories.)
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