Situation with Wagner won’t affect Russia’s military operation in Ukraine: Kremlin
The Kremlin spokesman has said that the Wagner group’s mutiny led against Russia’s military leadership will not interfere with Russia’s special operation in Ukraine.
“Under no circumstances,” Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked whether recent events led by the Wagner outfit could impact the operation in Ukraine.
“The special operation in Ukraine continues, our soldiers at the frontline are demonstrating heroism, they are quite effectively and successfully countering the counteroffensive of Ukraine’s armed forces. And the operation will continue,” he said late Saturday.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner paramilitary group, had embarked on a “march for justice” towards the Russian capital Moscow on Friday.
He had accused Russia’s military top brass of ordering a rocket attack on Wagner’s field camps in Ukraine -- where Russia has been leading a military operation -- killing “huge numbers” of his paramilitary forces.
The Wagner’s chief opted for de-escalation on Saturday, accepting a proposal mediated by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
Prigozhin agreed to cease the escalation, saying he does not want to “unleash a bloody massacre” in his homeland.
According to Peskov Wagner troops engaged in the march towards Moscow won’t be prosecuted. He said those members of the paramilitary group wishing to sign a contract with the Russian Defense Ministry in the future would be able to do so.
He also said that a court case previously filed against Prigozhin for targeting Russia’s top military brass in his complaints and ranting and had been dropped. Prigozhin, himself, is said to be in Belarus at the moment.
“A criminal case [against Prigozhin] will be terminated and he will leave for Belarus. If you ask, what is the guarantee that Prigozhin could leave for Belarus, it is the word of the Russian president,” Peskov told reporters
“There was the highest goal of avoiding bloodshed, internal confrontation, and clashes with unpredictable results. It is for these goals that Lukashenko's mediation efforts were made, and President [Vladimir] Putin made a relevant decision on that.
Peskov added that the phone call between Putin and his Belarusian counterpart had been “very constructive.”
The Washington Post and New York Times reported on Saturday that US spy agencies claimed that Putin himself was informed that the former restaurateur, once a close ally and referred to as “Putin’s Cook”, was plotting his move at least a day before it occurred.
ME
