Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin breaks silence to defend revolt, mock Russian military
- In an 11-minute audio clip, the mercenary chief said he had acted to protect his private army, not to overthrow the government
- Prigozhin taunted Russia’s military, calling his march on Moscow a ‘master class’ on how the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine should have been carried out
The leader of the Wagner mercenary group defended his short-lived insurrection in a boastful audio statement on Monday, but uncertainty still swirled about his fate, as well as that of senior Russian military leaders, the impact on the war in Ukraine, and even the political future of President Vladimir Putin.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu made his first public appearance since the uprising that demanded his ousting, in a video aimed at projecting a sense of order after the country’s most serious political crisis in decades.
In an 11-minute audio statement, Yevgeny Prigozhin said he acted “to prevent the destruction of the Wagner private military company” and in response to an attack on a Wagner camp that killed some 30 fighters.
“We started our march because of an injustice,” Prigozhin said in a recording that gave no details about where he is or what his future plans are.
06:16
Who is Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of Russia’s Wagner Group revolt?
A feud between the Wagner Group leader and Russia’s military brass that has festered throughout the war erupted into a mutiny that saw the mercenaries leave Ukraine to seize a military headquarters in a southern Russian city and roll seemingly unopposed for hundreds of kilometres toward Moscow, before turning around after less than 24 hours on Saturday.