Wagner Mutiny May Have Been Instigated by West: Russian National Guard

Russian National Guard head Viktor Zolotov said that he doesn't exclude that Western intelligence services were involved in the preparation of the armed mutiny, noting that the rebellion could be inspired by the West and overlap with the ambitions of the Wagner group's head Evgeny Prigozhin.

"They [Western countries] had already known, as they said, a few weeks before it the [mutiny] started," he said, elaborating: "This means that everything was planned by the West, apparently, as they encouraged Prigozhin himself to take this step, or maybe his ambitions played a certain role, as he wanted to rise even higher."

Moreover, Zolotov stated that there was information about mutiny plans from the allies of Prigozhin, adding that dates from June 22-25 were named.

"I must say, such information also came from Prigozhin's camp […]. That this mutiny was being prepared, that it would happen in the period from [June] 22-25. This actually happened," Zolotov told reporters.

Russia's Military Prevented Civil War: Putin

27 June 2023, 12:24

He recalled that on June 24, the Russian National Guard interacted with the Federal Security Service, the Interior Ministry and the Ministry of Emergency Situations, noting that there was a well-coordinated work among all security bodies. Zolotov noted that during the attempted armed rebellion, he was constantly in contact with the Russian president.

In particular, he praised the work of loyal law enforcers during the military mutiny as excellent and highly professional.

"We are grateful to these guys for the fact that they were able to restrain themselves. The personnel of the Russian Guard at the checkpoints were delayed for 2-2.5 hours [...], in fact, this was also an achievement that no fire was opened, there were no losses on both sides, and everything ended quite well," he said.

The head of the Russian Guard emphasized that the security agencies were confident of their victory and that the rebels would not have taken Moscow.

"When they were already near Lipetsk, it became clear to us, we knew that we would win," he stressed.

He also stated that the National Guard is always prepared for further provocations in Moscow, noting that they will be repelled and suppressed. Moreover, the forces will receive heavy military equipment including tanks, the head said, adding that the issue has been discussed with President Vladimir Putin.

"This question is now very acute. We are raising the issue that during the Chechen campaign we had tanks, but now […] we do not have tanks. We are going to put them into service," Zolotov told reporters.

Putin: Wagner Group Was Fully Funded by State

27 June 2023, 14:08

On Saturday, Wagner PMC captured the headquarters of the Southern Military District in Rostov-on-Don, seizing control of several administrative buildings in the southern Russian city. President Putin called the actions of the rebels "a stab in the back" of Russia and a betrayal, caused by ambitions and personal interests.

Later, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko held talks with Prigozhin, after which his press service announced that the head of the PMC accepted his proposal to stop Wagner's military march on Moscow and take further steps to de-escalate the situation.