Russian President Vladimir Putin stated today, in front of approximately 2,500 members of the security forces, National Guard, and army, that "the people of Russia and its armed forces stood shoulder to shoulder against the failed rebellion of the Wagner private military group last Saturday." Putin asked those present to observe a minute of silence in honor of the Russian pilots who were killed during the rebellion. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was among those attending Putin's speech, delivered in a square at the Kremlin complex. His dismissal was one of the demands made by Wagner fighters during their rebellion and march towards Moscow.
The Kremlin had indicated earlier that President Putin would deliver a speech today to members of the Russian army units, the National Guard, security forces, and others who participated in maintaining order during the Wagner group's rebellion last Saturday. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that Putin would hold individual meetings with some army officers and speak with heads of Russian media later today.
Peskov considered that "the rebellion demonstrated how united the Russian society is behind Putin in times of hardship," adding that "the level of support for the president among the people was immense. These events showed how the society rallied around the president." He rejected claims that the president's position had been "shaken" by the events, stating, "We do not agree with that. There is currently a great deal of hysteria among specialists, pseudo-specialists, political experts, and false politicians. This is also spreading through some new media outlets affected by hysteria and online, etc. It has nothing to do with reality." Peskov mentioned that the Kremlin does not have information on the whereabouts of Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.
