Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, the chief of the Wagner mercenary group who mounted a quick rebellion towards Russia’s army command over the weekend, broke a protracted interval of silence on Monday to disclaim, as soon as extra, that he had any intention of seizing energy along with his march on Moscow.
“We went to display our protest, and to not overthrow the federal government within the nation,” he mentioned in an 11-minute lengthy stream of consciousness voice memo printed on the messaging app Telegram. The assertion renewed his sharp criticism of Russia’s army management, each for what he claims was shabby therapy of his fighters and its dealing with of the invasion of Ukraine.
Mr. Prigozhin mentioned the protest was aimed toward a transfer by the Ministry of Protection to drive his mercenaries to signal contracts with the federal government, which he mentioned would have successfully halted Wagner’s actions in Ukraine as of July 1. The fighters, Mr. Prigozhin mentioned have been planning to surrender their heavy weapons to the Russian Military till they have been attacked from behind on Friday night time, killing greater than two dozen Wagner troopers — a declare for which there was no unbiased proof.
That’s when, he mentioned, he determined to ship one group of fighters to take the town of Rostov-on-Don, the house of the Russian southern command about 60 miles from the border with Ukraine, and one other group to Moscow to register their anger.
“The aim of the marketing campaign was to stop the destruction of the Wagner PMC and to deliver to justice these individuals who, by their unprofessional actions, made an enormous variety of errors throughout this course of,” he mentioned, obliquely referring to the Protection Ministry management.
The Wagner founder has spent months assailing Russia’s army management, which Mr. Prigozhin has lengthy feuded with and accused of mismanaging the warfare effort. In Telegram posts that combined self-aggrandizing statements and profanity-laced complaints, he accused army leaders of failing to produce his fighters with ammunition whilst they have been partaking in one of many bloodiest fights of the warfare, the taking of the ruined metropolis of Bakhmut.
However Mr. Prigozhin had not been heard from since he referred to as off his mutiny on Saturday, including to the confusion surrounding an episode that had challenged Russia’s veneer of political stability. Hours after President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia labeled him a traitor and vowed to carry him accountable, Mr. Prigozhin ceased his advance on Moscow and agreed to withdraw from Rostov-on-Don below a deal that may drop the investigation of him and permit him to go to Belarus.
His voice memo, some analysts counsel, is an indication he desires to proceed to be lively in political and army affairs. In it, Mr. Prigozhin praised his fighters, saying they’d proven professionalism and given the Russian public a “grasp class” in how the invasion of Ukraine ought to have been initiated final yr. If Wagner had been in cost, he claimed, the completion of Russia’s army objectives would have taken mere “days.”
Though the Kremlin mentioned on Saturday that the deal to finish hostilities — which Mr. Prigozhin once more mentioned he accepted with the intention to keep away from bloodshed — would drop the case towards him, there have been indicators on Monday that Mr. Prigozhin may nonetheless face costs.
In response to Russian media stories printed on Monday, the felony case towards Mr. Prigozhin stays open and the costs towards him haven’t been dropped. Kommersant, a Russian newspaper, and the nation’s three most important information companies — Tass, RIA and Interfax — all reported that the Federal Safety Service, or F.S.B., continued to research.
The publications, all both state-controlled or affiliated with the Kremlin, cited nameless sources, so their stories couldn’t be independently verified. If the proceedings proceed, Mr. Prigozhin may resist 20 years in jail.
Even when the case is dropped, critics of Belarus’s president, Aleksandr G. Lukashenko, have raised doubts over whether or not Mr. Prigozhin can be secure there, given the federal government’s shut ties to Mr. Putin, who has been a vital supply of assist for Mr. Lukashenko.
Mr. Prigozhin was final seen in public late Saturday, smiling and shaking arms with supporters when he left the southern Russian metropolis of Rostov-on-Don after he referred to as an finish to his temporary rebellion and turned again the column of troopers he had despatched on a march to Moscow.
Since then, his location has been unknown. On Sunday night, Mr. Prigozhin’s press service instructed RTVI, a Russian TV channel, that he “says hello to everybody and can reply questions” when he has good cellphone reception.
Regardless of the severity of Mr. Prigozhin’s actions over the weekend, some Russian officers have been reluctant to criticize Wagner fighters, who’ve confirmed themselves to be efficient, if brutal, in combating on Russia’s behalf in Ukraine and in different conflicts.
Andrei Kartapolov, the chairman of the Russian Parliament’s protection committee, mentioned Sunday that the Wagner fighters who took over the military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don “didn’t do something reprehensible” and had merely “adopted the orders of their command.”
“They didn’t offend anybody, they didn’t break something,” he mentioned. “Nobody has the slightest declare towards them — neither the residents of Rostov, nor the army personnel of the Southern Army District, nor the legislation enforcement companies.”