The speech was billed by a close Putin adviser as one that would «determine the fate of Russia.»
A new national address made by Russian President Vladimir Putin has done little to quell the fallout and criticism resulting from Yevgeny Prigozhin’s coup attempt and the future power structure within the nation.
Putin spoke from Moscow, his first public statement since he delivered an address Saturday to the Russian people that called the Prigozhin-led Wagner Group’s actions «treasonous.» Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov hyped the remarks as vital, saying prior to the speech that Putin’s comments «without exaggeration, will determine the fate of Russia.»
Prigozhin has reportedly brokered a deal with Putin and the Kremlin to seek safe refuge in Belarus, though Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko—arguably Putin’s closest ally—has not publicly addressed the unfolding situation.
«Time was needed, among other things, to give those who had made a mistake a chance to come to their senses, to realize that their actions were firmly rejected by society, and that the adventure in which they had been involved had tragic and destructive consequences for Russia and for our state,» Putin said, according to Reuters.
He added: «The organizers of the mutiny, having betrayed their country, their people, also betrayed those whom they dragged into the crime. They lied to them, they pushed them to death: under fire, to shoot their own.
