Putin’s regime has come under question after he struck a peace deal with the Wagner mercenary group, which threatened to march into Moscow with tanks over the weekend.
Topline
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made his first public appearance since Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin’s coup attempt over the weekend, as the Kremlin’s peace deal with the private military company has led Western officials to speculate that Putin’s grip on power in the country may have been significantly weakened.Key Facts
Shoigu appeared in a video posted by the Russian defense ministry on social media, in which he flew onboard a helicopter to a Russian military outpost in the occupied region of Ukraine to attend a meeting with other military officials.
Shoigu and Russian military Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov had been the main targets of Prigozhin’s ire—who has blamed them for Russia’s military failures in Ukraine—as he threatened to overthrow both of them as part of his coup attempt over the weekend.
