Andrei Kozyrev, the former Russian foreign minister, referring to the chaos in Russia, said that Vladimir Putin and Evigny Prigozhin are “from the same league, or rather from the same gang.” In an interview with CNN, Kozyrev, the first foreign minister after the collapse of the USSR, assessed that the founder of the Wagner Group and the Russian leader “are gangsters fighting for their piece of the pie, which is getting thinner because of the war and sanctions.”
Living for over a decade in USA Asked if he included Putin among the “gangsters”, Kozyrev replied that “he is probably the godfather of the whole system. Prigozhin was his creation. He created Prigozhin.”
March of the Wagnerians on Moscow and retreat
On Friday, the owner of the mercenary Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, reported that troops of the regular Russian army had attacked the Wagner camp, resulting in numerous deaths. He announced that he intended to “restore justice” in the armed forces and called for no opposition to him. He then moved on to Moscow with several thousand mercenaries. President of Russia Vladimir Putin he called the Wagnerians traitors and ensured that the rebels would be held accountable to the law and the nation, and Russia will be defended.
However, on Saturday evening, Prigozhin announced that he had given the order to turn back from Moscow. At the same time, Alyaksandr Lukashenko’s offices reported that the Belarusian dictator was the one who, with Putin’s consent, conducted Saturday’s negotiations with Prigozhin. The Kremlin announced that the Wagner Group mercenaries who moved towards Moscow – including their leader – would not be prosecuted, and Prigozhin himself would move to Belarus.
Main photo source: PAP/EPA/GAVRIIL GRIGOROV/SPUTNIK/KREMLIN POOL