Global Courant
Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin resurfaced for the first time since beginning a brief uprising against Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, posting an 11-minute voice recording on social media.
The march on Moscow was intended as a protest against the prosecution of the war in Ukraine and not aimed at regime change in Russia, Prigozhin said, according to a Reuters translation.
“We started our march because of injustice. We showed no aggression, but we were hit by missiles and helicopters. This was the trigger,” the warlord said in the recording.
“We showed a master class on what February 24, 2022 should look like. We turned to avoid the blood of Russian soldiers. We regret that we had to hit Russian aviation,” he added.
WHAT DOES PUTIN’S STAND-OFF WITH WAGNER MERCENARY GROUP MEAN FOR RUSSIA?
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the owner of the military company Wagner Group, records his video speeches in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, Saturday, June 24, 2023. (Prigozhin Press Service via AP)
Prigozhin shocked the world this weekend when he turned his private military group against Russian forces, seized control of Russian military bases and began the march. The warlord relented on Saturday after Belarus held negotiations between the two sides.
The Kremlin said it struck a deal whereby the mercenary chief will move to Belarus and he and his soldiers will be amnestied.
The mutiny was Putin’s biggest challenge in more than 20 years.
WAGNER CHIEF GIVES TROOPES TO TRANSFER FROM MOSCOW ‘TO PREVENT BLOOD PILLING’
Members of the Wagner group inspect a car on a street of Rostov-on-Don, on June 24, 2023. President Vladimir Putin said on June 24, 2023 that an armed mutiny by Wagner mercenaries was a “stab in the back” and that the group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin had betrayed Russia, vowing to punish the dissidents. (STRINGER/AFP via Getty Images)
Prigozhin’s statement offered no clues as to his current whereabouts, and it is not clear whether he traveled to Belarus.
Prior to the uprising, Prigozhin had spent months criticizing Russian military leaders, including Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov, with expletives and insults, criticizing them for allegedly not supplying his troops with sufficient ammunition during the battle of Bakhmut. .
WHAT DOES PUTIN’S STAND-OFF WITH WAGNER MERCENARY GROUP MEAN FOR RUSSIA?
His march was in part to push for their impeachment. Shoigu made his first public appearance since the uprising on Monday, posting a video showing him inspecting Russian troops in Ukraine.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu is Prigozhin’s main opponent. (Press Service of the Russian Ministry of Defense via AP)
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Prigozhin’s feud with the military top dates back years to the Russian military intervention in Syria, and the rift escalated in recent months during the battle for Bakhmut.
Fox News’ Landon Mion contributed to this report.
Anders Hagstrom is a reporter at Fox News Digital covering national politics and major news events. Send tips to [email protected], or on Twitter: @Hagstrom_Anders.
