Putin: Prigozhin rejected the incorporation of Wagner mercenaries
According to President Vladimir Putin, the head of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has refused to allow his fighters to be integrated into the Russian security forces. Putin said in an interview with the Kommersant newspaper published on Friday that he met with around three dozen of the mercenaries and their boss five days after the uprising. He made the offer to the mercenaries to continue serving in Russia. “They could have all gathered in one place and continued their ministry and nothing would have changed,” he told the paper. Many of the fighters nodded in agreement. However, according to Putin’s description, Prigozhin opposed it.
“Prigozhin (…) after listening said ‘No, the guys will not agree with such a decision,'” Putin said. The president reiterated that the Wagner mercenary group had been dissolved: “It simply doesn’t exist.” Prigozhin had led the rebellion of his mercenaries three weeks ago. His troops temporarily took control of Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia, where the military has its headquarters for the Ukraine war. A few hundred kilometers from Moscow, Prigozhin, who has repeatedly criticized the Russian military leadership, broke off the mutiny. An agreement was reached that granted Prigozhin impunity and exile in Belarus.