Putin vows to crush Prigozhin uprising and retake city of Rostov

Author: Editors Desk Source: Financial Times

June 24, 2023 at 08:18

Putin vows to crush Prigozhin uprising and retake city of Rostov

Founder of Wagner paramilitary group says he is heading for Moscow to oust the army’s leadership

Vladimir Putin has vowed to crush an uprising led by the warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin, describing the armed mutiny moving through cities in southern Russia as a treasonous “stab in the back”.

Facing the first coup attempt in Russia for three decades, the president said he had given “necessary orders” to tackle the Wagner paramilitary group with “decisive measures” to retake the city of Rostov.

Putin’s speech on Saturday morning came hours after Prigozhin claimed to have “blockaded” the southern Russian city, as armed, masked men with tanks and armoured vehicles surrounded government buildings.

The Kremlin in turn deployed security forces to shore up defences around Moscow and attack Wagner’s forces by air as they moved north towards the capital.

The insurrection is the most serious threat to Putin’s two-decade long rule in Russia, a country mobilised for an invasion of Ukraine that has hamstrung the economy, cost tens of thousands of lives and created a dangerous patchwork of competing militias and security forces.

Putin’s grave address, which did not mention Prigozhin by name, suggests the president has left no room for compromise with his former acolyte. “What we are dealing with is treason. Unchecked ambitions and personal interests have brought about betrayal of our country and our people,” Putin said.

Within hours, Prigozhin issued a defiant response, saying his Wagner force no longer wanted to live “under corruption, lies, and bureaucracy”.

Read More (...)