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In his first remarks since launching — and ending — an insurrection against Russian military leaders over the weekend, Wagner Group head Yevgeny Prigozhin said the aim was to avoid the destruction of the mercenary force.
Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin released an audio message on Monday, his first statement since a failed revolt by his mercenary forces in Russia.
He said the goal was not to overthrow Russia’s political leadership, but rather to protest Russian military leaders’ ineffective conduct during its war in Ukraine.
What did Prigozhin say?
The Wagner Group leader posted an 11-minute-long audio message to Telegram, explaining why he and his forces mutinied against the Russian military and marched towards the Russian capital of Moscow.
“We started our march because of an injustice,” Prigozhin said. He reiterated claims that the Russian military had fired on Wagner forces and that the mercenary group set off for Moscow in reaction to being attacked.
In the message, the Wagner Group leader took aim at the security situation in Russia, saying his
Prigozhin emphasized that the goal of the march was not to oust Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government.
“We went to demonstrate our protest and not to overthrow power in the country,” he added.
He did not provide details about his current whereabouts in the message. On Saturday, Russia said Prigozhin was headed to Belarus under an agreement brokered by the country’s leader, Alexander Lukashenko, in exchange for ending the mutiny.
“Lukashenko held out his hand and offered to find solutions for the continuation of the work of the Wagner private military company in a legal jurisdiction,” he said on Monday, without providing further details.
Source:DW