Putin addresses hundreds of soldiers in the Kremlin

There are successive statements by Russian leader Putin about the Wagner uprising, the mercenary group that shook Russia.

The Russian leader, who said “I thank Wagner’s commanders who prevented bloodshed” in his statement last night and invited Wagner’s warriors to join the ranks of the army, made new remarks today. Addressing 2,500 people, including senior military officials, in the square of the Kremlin complex, Putin said that “the Russian people were not on the side of the rebels” and that the people and the armed forces were united against the rebel mercenaries.

Notably, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, whom Wagner directly challenged, was also present at the meeting. At Putin’s call, a minute’s silence was observed to commemorate the Russian pilots killed during the rebellion.

KREMLIN: EVENTS DID NOT SHAKE PUTIN’S POSITION

Meanwhile, in a Kremlin statement, it was argued that the view that the failed armed uprising had shaken the position of Russian President Putin was not correct. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the revolt showed how tightly united Russian society was around Putin.

“The level of community unity around the president is very high,” Peskov said. “These facts showed how close the society is.”

“Right now, there is a cloying hysteria among experts, among pseudo-experts, among political scientists and pseudo-politicians. “They have nothing to do with reality,” he said.

Peskov also said that the Kremlin has no information on the whereabouts of Yevgeny Prigojin, the leader of the Wagner group.