A few months after Prigozhin’s failed coup, the Kremlin makes a surprising revelation of a secret meeting with Vladimir Putin.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and former Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin seemingly met five days after the former’s attempted coup, the Kremlin said. Currently, Prigozhin has been outed by Russian ally Belarus.
The announcement of the meeting came today from the Kremlin’s spokesperson Dimitry Peskov. "The president listened to the commanders’ explanations and offered them options for further employment options and combat applications," Peskov said.
"The commanders presented their version of what had happened," he concluded. "They emphasized that they were staunch supporters and soldiers of the leader and Supreme Commander-in-Chief and said they were ready to continue fighting for the Motherland."
The whole world closely watched Prigozhin’s attempted coup. Starting in the Russian city of Rostov, Prigozhin’s column stopped 200 kilometers from the Russian capital Moscow.
His aim was to overthrow the Russian military command, and possibly Vladimir Putin himself. Prigozhin’s stated targets, however, were Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu and Commander in Chief Valery Gerasimov.
The coup and the war in Ukraine
The coup was launched in the midst of the Ukrainian counter-offensive, after one year of failed Russian advances in the invaded country. Albeit slow, the Ukrainian attack showed Russia does not have the military capabilities to go on the offensive anymore.
The Wagner group was a mercenary force fighting for Russia. They achieved the only two significant Russian victories of the war: the siege of Mariupol and the battle of Bakhmut.
Already during the battle of Bakhmut, however, Prigozhin expressed dissatisfaction with the Kremlin’s handling of the war. Several videos were posted on his Telegram channel expressing his discontent about the lack of ammunition and the lack of support from the Russian army.
After Bakhmut was taken, the Wagner group was relocated inside Russia’s border to seemingly replenish their forces. It is now clear, however, that Prigozhin simply had no intention of fighting anymore.
The coup was so brief that it had no significant effect on the Ukrainian war. According to some analysts, however, it might have impacted troop morale and lowered Russian combat effectiveness.
Nevertheless, the Ukrainian counter-offensive is moving at a slow pace incurring heavy losses. The unforgiving terrain of Southern Ukraine, combined with Russia’s thick layer of defenses is posing a serious challenge for the Ukrainian high command.
Prigozhin’s attempt showed the cracks in Putin’s regime. After the coup, Putin used this chance to expose the "bad apples" within the Kremlin. One of his first targets has been General Sergey Surovikin, who is thought to have backed the coup.
