A Kremlin spokesman says Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Wagner, chief Yevgeny Prigozhin days after a short-lived insurrection by the mercenary chief and his army.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that the three-hour meeting took place on June 29 and included the commander of a military company set up by Prigozhin. Wagner’s mercenaries have fought alongside Russian troops in Ukraine.
Prigozhin had a long-standing conflict with Russia’s top military officers, which culminated in an armed uprising on 24 June, in which he led his fighters into Russia.
Prigozhin ended the rebellion after an agreement for exile in Belarus. Peskov said that during the June 29 meeting, Putin presented an assessment of Wagner’s actions on the battlefield in Ukraine and the “events of June 24”.
The Kremlin spokesman said the president also listened to the commanders’ explanations and offered them the option of further employment and further use in the war.
Peskov said that the commanders themselves presented their version of what happened. They underlined that they are staunch supporters and soldiers of the head of state and commander-in-chief, and also said that they are ready to continue fighting for their homeland.
