"The civil war has begun" . With these words Yevgeny Prigozhin , head of the Wagner mercenary militia, had communicated, in the early hours of Saturday, the mutiny of his mercenaries , in disagreement with the leaders of the Russian armed forces alongside which the brigade has fought since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine.
“We are 25,000, ready to die,” Prighozin added. And again: «We do not want the country to continue to live in corruption and lies. We are patriots, and those who are against us are those who have rallied around the bastards."
After the announcement, in a few hours Wagner's militia managed to take control of the city of Rostov, a fundamental hub for the offensive in Ukraine, also starting an unopposed march towards Moscow.
An advance that lasted until the late afternoon, when the order to stop and retreat arrived from Prigozhin himself "so as not to spill Russian blood, on one side or the other".
Mediating between the Tsar and the mercenary leader was Aleksandr Lukashenko, president of Belarus , the first to announce the end of the rebel brigade's putsch.
But was it real rebellion? A show of strength? Or a bluff? Was there a negotiation? And who got what? Questions still unanswered. Certainly the reckless maneuver of the former "Putin's cook", as he is nicknamed, has attracted the eyes of the world.
The G7 leaders held frantic telephone talks to take stock of the situation and imagine possible scenarios.
Vladimir Putin, for his part, while public buildings were being evacuated in Moscow and almost all the main activities were suspended, showed up on TV to speak to the nation. A tough speech, during which he accused Wagner and her leader of "betrayal" and of having "stabbed the country in the back" , to then ensure exemplary punishments for those responsible for the rebellion.
Now everything appears suspended and frozen. And the conflict in Ukraine continues. Russia assures that "the objectives will continue to be pursued", but for the leader of Kiev Volodymyr Zelensky "Putin is now very frightened and is probably hiding somewhere , without showing himself. I'm sure he's not in Moscow anymore. He knows what he's afraid of, because he created this threat himself."
(Unioneonline/lf)