The spokesperson for the Russian presidency acknowledged this Monday, July 10 a meeting of “nearly three hours” in Moscow between the head of state and the boss of the Wagner militia, who went into rebellion a fortnight ago, as well than its main commanders.
Release revealed it on Friday, and the Kremlin spokesman confirmed it on Monday, July 10: Russian President Vladimir Putin did indeed meet Evgueni Prigojine, five days after his aborted march on Moscow. The meeting held on June 29, attended by 35 people, lasted “almost three hours”, affirmed Dmitri Peskov, specifying that Putin had given his “appreciation” of the June 24 mutiny.
The Russian President also “listened to the commanders’ explanations” of Wagner and offered them “employment options for the future”, including in combat. “The commanders themselves presented their version of the facts. They underlined that they were staunch supporters and soldiers of the Head of State and the Commander-in-Chief, and that they were ready to continue fighting for their homeland,” Peskov added.
Departures of Central African mercenaries
Since the failed mutiny of June 24, Wagner’s boss and his top lieutenants had disappeared from circulation. Enough to feed all kinds of speculation on the future of the Prigojine empire and its private military company, notably deployed on the African continent. According to information from Releaseof the 1,400 Wagner mercenaries present in the Central African Republic, 500 have had to leave the country in recent days, leaving behind fourteen bases in the towns of Birao, Ndah, Bocaranga, Koui, Kabo, Sida and Batangafo.
Vitali Perfilev and Dmitri Sytyi, at the head of the militia in this African country where Wagner is most established, could be replaced by Russian soldiers. Denying any withdrawal as soon as the end of the mutiny was announced, Bangui had affirmed that Wagner’s activities would continue. “Russia subcontracted with Wagner. If Russia no longer agrees with Wagner then it will send us a new contingent,” said Fidèle Gouandjika, Minister Special Advisor to Central African President Touadéra.
If there is still no news from General Sergei Surovikin, a close friend of Prigojine, the fog that has surrounded the fate of Russian military commanders since the failed putsch is beginning to dissipate. The chief of the Russian general staff and commander of military operations in Ukraine, Valeri Guerasimov, made his first public appearance on Monday since the abortive rebellion of the Wagner group, which targeted him personally.
A video, released in the morning by the Russian Ministry of Defense, shows Gerasimov chairing a meeting where he was informed of an attempt by the Ukrainian army to carry out missile strikes in Russia and against Crimea on Sunday.