The boss of Russia's Wagner mercenary group re-emerged on Monday, two days after leading an aborted mutiny, saying he had never intended to overthrow the government and giving few clues about his own fate or the deal under which he stood down. Last seen on Saturday night smiling and high-fiving bystanders from the back of an SUV as he withdrew from a city occupied by his men, Yevgeny Prigozhin said his fighters had halted their campaign in order to avert bloodshed.
"We need to act together, as one team, and maintain the unity of all forces, rallying around the president," he told a televised government meeting. Authorities also released video showing Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu flying in a plane and being briefed, also containing no evidence of when it was filmed.
The headquarters of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, whose leader Yevgeny Prigozhin led a mutiny over the weekend that rattled President Vladimir Putin’s rule, said yesterday it was working in “normal mode.”
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