Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday that the Russian mercenary army Wagner Group’s brief insurrection “was a direct challenge to [President Vladimir] Putin’s authority,” asserting that the Russian leader now has “a lot” to answer for over his messy war in Ukraine.
The mercenary rebellion, which was quelled Saturday, “raises profound questions” and “shows real cracks” in the Russian power structure, said Mr. Blinken, adding that the division of Mr. Putin’s military and security establishment is “an unfolding story.”
“We haven’t seen the last act. We’re watching it very closely and carefully, but just step back for a second and put this in context,” he said. “Sixteen months ago, Russian forces were on the doorstep of Kyiv in Ukraine, thinking they’d take the city in a matter of days, thinking they would erase Ukraine from the map as an independent country. Now over this weekend, they’ve had to defend Moscow, Russia’s capital, against mercenaries of Putin’s own making.
His comments showed the intensity with which U.S. officials have monitored the developments in Russia following Mr. Prigozhin’s declaration of an armed rebellion against the Putin government on Friday.The mercenary leader initially said the rebellion was aimed at ousting Russia’s defense minister, and Mr. Prigozhin’s mercenary fighters appeared to seize control of the Russian military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don that oversee Russian forces fighting in Ukraine.
The Wagner Group fighters were halted Saturday when a deal was suddenly announced between Mr. Putin and Mr. Prigozhin, under which the mercenary group’s chief would leave Russia and go to neighboring Belarus — a country that has supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. A Kremlin spokesman said charges against Mr. Prigozhin for mounting the rebellion would be dropped, and Mr. Prigozhin subsequently ordered his troops back to their field camps.
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