Vladimir Putin addressed the Russian nation on television Saturday, during which he promised “decisive actions” to end “an armed rebellion” allegedly launched by mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Putin said the uprising was treasonous and “a stab in the back of our country and our people.” He said those involved would be punished.
Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner military group, claimed on Saturday that he had taken over the military headquarters of two southern Russian cities. Some analysts speculated in media interviews that he was planning to march on Moscow, having sensed a weakened Russian military establishment.
“We arrived in Rostov without a single shot,” Prigozhin said, claiming that Russian soldiers and civilians in the area were supporting his gambit.
White House and NATO officials both said they were keeping an eye on events as they unfolded.
“We are monitoring the situation and will be consulting with allies and partners on these developments,” National Security Council spokesman Adam Hodge said in a statement.
Britain’s defense intelligence agency described the crisis as the “most significant challenge to the Russian state in recent times,” Reuters reported.
The Wagner fighters have been assisting Russia in its war with Ukraine. The allegedly beleaguered Russian forces turned to Prigozhin after months of limited progress on the battlefield, despite Russia’s significant bombardment of Ukrainian targets from the air.
“As the war began, so it will end — inside Russia,” Oleksiy Danilov, head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, tweeted Saturday. “The process has begun…”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy commented on the supposed uprising on Saturday, taking to the social media site Telegram. He wrote: “Anyone who chooses the path of evil destroys himself.”
“[Putin] despises people and throws hundreds of thousands into the war — in order to eventually barricade himself in the Moscow region from those whom he himself armed,” Zelenskyy wrote.
Russian Orthodox leader Patriarch Kirill has called for “unity” in the country:
“Today, when our brothers are fighting and dying on the frontlines … any attempt to sow discord within the country is the greatest possible crime that has no justification. I support the efforts of the head of the Russian state, aimed at not allowing turmoil in our country.”
