„We didn’t march to overthrow Russia’s leadership,“ Prigozhin said on social media on Monday.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Russian oligarch and leader of the Wagner Group mercenary outfit, spoke out for the first time on Monday after the abrupt end to his attempted mutiny against the Kremlin.
On Friday, Prigozhin called for his forces to wage war against the Russian Ministry of Defense, claiming that the Russian military had attacked a group of Wagner troops stationed in Ukraine, killing many. The mercenary army claimed to have taken control of military sites in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don before beginning a march north toward Moscow.
The mutiny, which was described as both an attempted coup and an armed insurrection by some, came to an abrupt end on Saturday when it was reported that Prigozhin had accepted a deal brokered with help from the Belarusian government. As part of this agreement, Wagner forces would de-escalate in exchange for certain safety guarantees, while Prigozhin himself agreed to leave the country and reside in Belarus.
