The Kremlin reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner Group mercenaries, following the failed mutiny by the group last month.
Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesperson, confirmed that Prigozhin, along with 35 other Wagner commanders, was invited to the meeting in Moscow. During the meeting, President Putin provided an “assessment” of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the mutiny itself.
The mutiny, which occurred on June 23, was short-lived, lasting only 24 hours. As part of the resolution to end the mutiny, which saw Wagner troops seizing a city and advancing towards Moscow, charges against Prigozhin were dropped, and he was offered relocation to Belarus.
Prior to the mutiny, there had been public discord between the Wagner Group and Russia’s Ministry of Defense regarding the conduct of the war. Prigozhin had repeatedly criticized the ministry for its failure to provide adequate ammunition to his group.
On Monday, Peskov stated that Prigozhin was one of the commanders who were invited to the Kremlin for the meeting, which took place five days after the collapse of the mutiny.
“The president gave an assessment of the company’s actions on the front,” Mr Peskov is quoted as saying by Interfax news agency.
“He also gave assessment to the 24 June events. Putin listened to the commanders’ explanations and suggested variants of their future employment and their future use in combat.”
According to the spokesman, Prigozhin told Mr Putin that Wagner unconditionally supported him.
The Wagner chief’s current whereabouts are unclear.
Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, who played a role in brokering the resolution to the mutiny, stated last Thursday that Yevgeny Prigozhin was in Russia. The BBC tracked Prigozhin’s private jet, which flew to Belarus in late June and returned to Russia on the same evening.
The Wagner Group, a private military organization, has been fighting alongside the regular Russian army in Ukraine since the invasion last year. However, following setbacks on the battlefield, Prigozhin used social media to criticize the high command, particularly Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, the two top figures overseeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
During the mutiny, Prigozhin did not directly condemn President Putin, but analysts viewed it as the most significant challenge to the president’s authority in his more than two decades in power.
In the meantime, General Gerasimov has made his first public appearance since the mutiny. Speculation had arisen that Wagner’s march was halted in exchange for the general’s dismissal.
However, footage aired on Russian TV on Monday showed General Gerasimov giving orders to attack Ukrainian missile sites, suggesting that the video was recorded after the mutiny. The video indicates that President Putin has retained both Defense Minister Shoigu and General Gerasimov in their positions.