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Days after a mutiny by the Wagner paramilitary group, which was later aborted, briefly rocked Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday told members of security services that they “essentially prevented a civil war”, The Guardian reported.
“You have stopped a civil war, acting precisely and cohesively,” Putin told service members who gathered at the Kremlin to receive state decorations for their actions during the mutiny.
“The people and the army were not on the side of the mutineers,” The Guardian quoted Putin as saying. The Russian President also observed a minute of silence for the pilots that the Wagner group shot down and killed during their mutiny.
read | Didn’t March To Topple Russian Leadership: Wagner Chief Breaks Silence After Aborting Mutiny
So far, there has been no official information on how many pilots died or how many aircraft were shot down during Wagner’s revolt. The Guardian quoted pro-military bloggers as saying that at least 13 pilots were killed during the mutiny.
“The officers died with honor as they carried out their duty,” Putin said. The Russian President also noted that no units were pulled back from the frontline of the special military operation in Ukraine.
Last week, Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin directed his forces to march toward large Russian cities in a bid to remove several generals whom he accused of treason. The mutiny was aborted the following day after Belarus mediated a deal with Moscow.
Putin said his government would not prosecute the Wagner troops or their leader for their act.
On Monday, Prigozhin said his paramilitary group didn’t march to overthrow President Putin’s leadership, the BBC reported.
In an eleven-minute audio message, Prigozhin said, “We were on a march to demonstrate our protest, not to topple the government.”
“The aim of the march was to avoid the destruction of Wagner and to hold to account the officials who through their unprofessional actions have committed a massive number of errors,” he further said.
Prigozhin said Wagner regrets “they had to hit Russian aviation” and they turned around “to avoid spilling blood of Russian soldiers”.
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