Chrys
President Vladimir Putin called Yevgeny Prigozhin’s mutiny “a betrayal of his country and people” and vowed to quell it.
“Everything that weakens Russia should be thrown aside,” the Russian leader said in a televised address to the nation exactly 16 months after he announced the invasion of Ukraine.
He added that the action against what he called “rebels” will be tough, and the army and law enforcement had received “the necessary orders.”
“Russia will react harshly,” said Putin, wearing a sober black tie and suit.
Calling the Wagner rebellion a treasonous “stab in the back” of Moscow’s troops, Putin minced no words as he addressed the nation about the man who was once his caterer.
The Russian leader admitted the situation in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don was complicated but said that the state “will defend itself and repel” the effort.
Putin spoke as Yevgeny Prigozhin said early Saturday that he and his fighters had effectively taken control of Rostov-on-Don, the southern Russian city where the headquarters for the war in Ukraine are based.
In a video posted to his social media, Prigozhin threatened to blockade the city and head for Moscow unless Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the General Staff, come to see him in Rostov.
