Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin days after a short-lived rebellion by the mercenary chief and his private army, according the the Kremlin.
Key points:
- Vladimir Putin offered an “assessment” of Wagner’s actions in Ukraine and the mutiny
- Commanders from the Wagner Group expressed their support for Russia and the war
- A video was released of a Russian general targeted in the June rebellion
The three-hour meeting took place at the Kremlin on June 29 and involved a total of 35 people including commanders from the Wagner military company Mr Prigozhin founded, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Mr Prigozhin’s long-simmering feud with Russia’s top military brass culminated in an armed mutiny on June 24 in which he led his mercenaries — who had been fighting alongside Russian troops in Ukraine — into Russia.
The leader ended the mutiny after a deal was brokered for him to be exiled to Belarus.
The confirmation of a face-to-face meeting with Mr Putin, who had branded Mr Prigozhin a backstabbing traitor, adds a new twist to the uncertainty surrounding the mercenary chief.
His fate and whereabouts have been unknown since the abortive mutiny, which severely weakened Mr Putin’s authority.
Mr Peskov said that during the June 29 meeting, Mr Putin offered an “assessment” of Wagner’s actions on the battlefield in Ukraine and “of the events of June 24”.
The president also “listened to the explanations of the commanders and offered them options for further employment and further use in combat”, the Kremlin spokesman said.
“The commanders themselves presented their version of what happened,” Mr Peskov said.
“They underscored that they are staunch supporters and soldiers of the head of state and the commander-in-chief, and also said that they are ready to continue to fight for their homeland.”
Gerasimov video released
Russia’s Defense Ministry also published a video featuring the country’s military chief — the first time General Valery Gerasimov has been shown since the rebelling aimed to oust him.
During last month’s revolt, Mr Prigozhin repeatedly denounced Mr Gerasimov, who serves as chief of the general staff of the Russian armed forces, and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu for failing to provide his fighters in Ukraine with ammunition.
In the video, Mr Gerasimov is shown hearing a report from the chief of staff of Russia’s aerospace forces and calling for improvement in identifying the location of Ukrainian missiles.
This video was provided by the Russian Defense Ministry and the date, location or conditions under which it was shot cannot be independently verified.
These updates appeared to be an attempt by Moscow to take control of the narrative after a turbulent period.
Zaporizhzhia region targeted by air strikes
Meanwhile, a Russian air strike on a school in southern Ukraine killed four adults as people gathered to receive humanitarian aid, the governor of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region said Monday, branding the incident “a war crime.”
Three women and a man, all in their 40s, died in Sunday’s attack in the town of Orikhiv, Gov. Yuriy Malashko said.
A guided aerial bomb caused an explosion at the school, Malashko said, without providing evidence. Eleven other people were wounded in the attack, he said.
Overall, Russia fired on 10 settlements in the province over the course of a day, he said.
Moscow denies it targets civilian locations. Russia has been accused numerous times of doing so and committing other war crimes since its full-scale invasion of neighbouring Ukraine in February 2022.
In March, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Mr Putin for war crimes, accusing him of personal responsibility for the abductions of children from Ukraine.
Broad investigations are also underway in Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. The International Center for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine, located in The Hague, is helping with those investigations.
Zaporizhzhia province is home to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, which Russian forces seized early in the war, and is one of four regions of Ukraine that Mr Putin illegally annexed last year. Retaking the province is one of the targets of a Ukrainian counteroffensive.
Russian aerial assaults continued across Ukraine between Sunday and Monday, according to a summary from the Ukrainian presidential office.
In the Donetsk region, the Russians used aircraft, missile systems and heavy artillery to shell residential areas of 6 cities and villages, injuring one person, the office reported.
The Russian army attacked residential areas of Kherson, the regional capital of a province of the same name. A 66-year-old woman was injured, the presidential office said.
AP