Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner group, issued a public statement on Monday clarifying that the one-day mutiny orchestrated by his forces aimed to express discontent with the perceived ineffective handling of the war in Ukraine by the Russian government rather than to overthrow it.
In a major challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin's authority in decades, Yevgeny Prigozhin's mercenary forces, Wagner, launched a coup of sorts on Friday, 23 June, taking control of the city of Rostov-on-Don and marching towards Moscow.
In his 11-minute audio message shared on Telegram, he emphasised yet again that Wagner stood as the most formidable combat force not only in Russia but "even the world," and that it successfully put to shame the units that Moscow had sent into Ukraine in February 2022.
These were the Wagner chief's first his public comments since ending the mutiny late on Saturday.
Prigozhin further added that the way Wagner had been able to seize Rostov-on-Don, a city in the south of Russia, without bloodshed and to send an armed convoy to within 200 km of Moscow was a testament to the effectiveness of his fighters.
"We showed a master class, as it should have been on Feb. 24, 2022. We did not have the goal of overthrowing the existing regime and the legally elected government."Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin
Prigozhin also alleged once again, albeit without any supporting evidence, that the Russian military had attacked a Wagner camp with missiles and helicopters, killing approximately 30 of its men.
He said this incident had been the immediate trigger for what he termed a "march of justice."
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