Where was Putin during the Wagner coup? New reports suggest that the Kremlin boss was not disturbed – and attended a festival.
Moscow – The brief uprising of the Wagner group recently caused an uproar in Russia. The mercenaries around their boss, Yevgeny Prigozhin, were on a march towards Moscow. Speculations about Vladimir Putin’s whereabouts at this time were repeated several times. Now Russian journalists want to have uncovered the answer: According to them, the head of the Kremlin was on a yacht – and followed the “Alye Parusa” festival in St. Petersburg.
Where was Putin during Wagner coup? Kremlin chief was probably on a yacht
“We went out to demonstrate protest, not to overthrow the authorities in the country,” said the head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, about the failed uprising in Russia. The 62-year-old stressed again that no change of power had been planned. Nevertheless, the West was also preparing for a possible escalation in Moscow on the said weekend.
Wagner had long played a significant role in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, particularly in the month-long siege of the city of Bakhmut. For Vladimir Putin, the mercenary force was an important instrument in the Ukraine war. But the Prigozhin revolt suddenly put him in danger himself – at least presumably. Already on the day of the mutiny, June 24, several media reported that Putin’s plane flew from Moscow to St. Petersburg.
During Wagner Uprising in Russia: Putin visits festival in hometown
Mikhail Tsygar, political journalist and former editor-in-chief of the TV channel dozhdwrites in a column for the New York Times, Putin would never miss the “Crimson Sails” evening as the highlight of the “White Nights” in his hometown. The failed Wagner uprising in Russia was not a reason for this either. According to Zygar, on June 24, Putin watched the event from a yacht. This is said to belong to the businessman Yuriy Kovalchuk.
But what conclusion does this allow for about the Russian president if he prefers to stay at a festival while numerous Wagner mercenaries under Prigozhin’s orders are rehearsing the coup in Russia? Apparently not a good one: According to his “inner circle”, Putin has “lost touch with reality”, explained Zygar. “He still believes that he has everything under control and that Prigozhin’s rebellion had no impact on the political situation,” he continued. The “hunger for change” is also growing: “For many with whom I have spoken, Mr. Putin’s system of power cannot last much longer.”
Putin gets a yacht as a gift: Kremlin boss was not in Moscow during the Wagner uprising
Apparently, however, the support of influential men for Putin has not been completely broken: It is also said that Kovalchuk gave the Kremlin boss a new yacht, which was handed over during the festival in St. Petersburg. According to Julia Taratuta, also a journalist from Russia, the construction of the yacht took between three and five years. Not all details are known. According to Taratuta, it was definitely a gift.
“Neither the war with Ukraine, nor Prigozhin’s mutiny, nor the bombing of Rostov and Voronezh had any impact on it,” Taratuta wrote in reference to the gift to Putin.
Putin’s whereabouts revealed during Wagner uprising: Flight data showed trip to St. Petersburg
Putin’s stay during the Wagner uprising already caused a lot of speculation on June 24th. Ukrainian secret services spread the thesis that the Russian president fled to Valdai. After the flight data from his plane surfaced, Putin’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, denied that his boss was not in Moscow: Putin continued to work in the Kremlin. (febu)
#Putin #allegedly #Wagner #uprising #yacht #Relation #reality #lost