Key takeaways:
- Putin denounced those responsible for the revolt as traitors who had played into the hands of those who wanted to see the country “drowned in a bloody domestic strife.”
- President Joe Biden said the United States and its allies had strongly communicated to the Kremlin that they were not involved in the mutiny.
- Putin thanked the Russian people for their support and said the crisis had only served to unite the country.
On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the nation for the first time since a short-lived armed revolt by the Wagner mercenary group on Saturday. Putin denounced those responsible for the revolt as traitors who had played into the hands of those who wanted to see the country “drowned in a bloody domestic strife.”
The revolt was led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the far-right leader of the private military company, and focused on Russia’s military brass, specifically Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. Prigozhin accused them of botching the war against Ukraine and attacking his fighters.
In response, President Joe Biden said on Monday that the United States and its allies had strongly communicated to the Kremlin that they were not involved in the mutiny. Biden also said that any kind of blackmail or attempts to create internal turmoil were doomed to failure, and that his forces could have crushed the mutiny had the mercenary fighters not turned back from Moscow.
Putin thanked the Russian people for their support and said the crisis had only served to unite the country. He did not offer any clarity about his planned response to the revolt.
The short-lived rebellion posed the biggest challenge to Putin’s rule in more than 20 years. It remains to be seen how the Kremlin will respond to the incident and what the long-term implications will be.
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