Wagner chief posts first message since mutiny, says 'march not aimed at overthrowing government'

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, in his first video message released on Monday (June 26) since his aborted mutiny, said that his rebellion was aimed at saving his embattled mercenary group and not overthrowing the Russian leadership.

"We went to demonstrate our protest and not to overthrow power in the country," said Prigozhin, in the first audio message released since the Wagnergroup's march towards Moscow was called off on the weekend.

“We stopped at that moment when it became clear that much blood would be spilt,” he stated, while emphasising the military convoy's progress and that it was at a striking distance from Moscow.

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“That’s why we believe that the demonstration of what we were planning to do was enough. Our decision to turn back had two factors: we didn’t want to spill Russian blood. Secondly, we marched as a demonstration of our protest,” he added.

The Wagner mercenary group's leader said that the march towards Moscow showed up "very serious security problems" in Russia. In the released audio file, Yevgeny Prigozhin said the convoy of armed rebellions was only 200 kilometres (125 miles) away from Moscow and had "blocked all military infrastructure", which included air bases along its path.

He once again accused the defence ministry of Russia of targeting his armed forces with artillery fire, calling it the “trigger for us to move out immediately”.

“The goal of the march was to not allow the destruction of the Wagner private military company and hold to account the officials who through their unprofessional actions have committed a massive number of errors. Society demanded it,” he added.

Prigozhin said that his fighters received support from "happy" civilians in the towns they passed through while advancing towards Moscow. "In Russian towns, civilians met us with Russian flags and the symbols of Wagner. They were all happy when we passed through,” he stated.

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He also acknowledged that his armed troops killed Russian airmen during the rebellion, stating that they “regretted that they were required to carry out strikes against aircraft but they were hitting our forces with bombs and rocket strikes”.

He also stated that the incursion of Wagner forces into Russia was a “masterclass” in how Moscow should have invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Lukashenko proposed ways in which Wagner can continue to work

The Wagner chief said that ways in which his mercenary group can continue to work were proposed by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko after the weekend rebellion was called off.

"Lukashenko held out his hand and offered to find solutions for the continuation of the work of the Wagner private military company in a legal jurisdiction," said Yevgeny Prigozhinin the audio message.

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