Russia’s
President
Vladimir
Putin
delivers
a
video
address,
on
June
24,
2023,
as
Wagner
fighters
stage
rebellion.
Gavriil
Grigorov
|
AFP
|
Getty
Images
U.S.
Secretary
of
State
Antony
Blinken
said
much
remains
unknown
about
the
chaos
that
unfolded
in
Russia
on
Saturday,
but
that
the
internal
clash
exposed
“cracks”
in
the
nation
that
“weren’t
there
before.”
Russian
President
Vladimir
Putin
faced
a
violent,
attempted
insurrection
Saturday
by
Yevgeny
Prigozhin,
a
longtime
Putin
ally
who
led
private
mercenary
fighters
called
the
Wagner
Group.
But
less
than
24
hours
after
Wagner
mercenaries
seemingly
took
control
of
the
strategic
southern
city
of
Rostov
and
began
an
armed
convoy
march
towards
Moscow,
Prigozhin
abruptly
announced
the
armed
rebellion
was
over.
In
exchange
for
turning
back,
the
criminal
case
against
Prigozhin
was
dropped,
Kremlin
spokesman
Dmitry
Peskov
told
Russian
reporters,
according
to
the
state-controlled
outlet
TASS.
Prigozhin
himself
“will
go
to
Belarus,”
Peskov
said,
describing
what
appeared
to
be
a
sort
of
official
exile.
Prigozhin
has
played
a
central
role
in
Russia’s
invasion
of
Ukraine,
so
his
departure
could
ultimately
change
the
course
of
the
war.
And
though
his
rebellion
was
short-lived,
it
marked
the
most
serious
challenge
to
Putin’s
regime
in
decades.
Head
of
the
Wagner
Group
Yevgeny
Prigozhin
left
the
Southern
Military
District
headquarters
on
June
24,
2023
in
Rostov-on-Don,
Russia.
Stringer
|
Anadolu
Agency
|
Getty
Images
“This
is
just
an
added
chapter
to
a
very,
very
bad
book
that
Putin
has
written
for
Russia,”
Blinken
told
CNN’s
“State
of
the
Union”
Sunday.
Blinken
said
Prigozhin
has
been
responsible
for
“horrible
brutality”
in
Ukraine,
and
that
in
many
ways,
Prigozhin
is
Putin’s
direct
creation.
He
said
it
is
too
soon
to
tell
exactly
what
the
rift
between
the
two
men
will
mean
for
Russia,
but
that
the
U.S.
remains
“intensely
focused”
on
Ukraine.
Prigozhin’s
direct
challenge
of
Putin’s
authority
is
“extraordinary,”
Blinken
added,
as
Prigozhin
has
managed
to
raise
questions
about
the
motivations
for
Russia’s
invasion
of
Ukraine
in
the
first
place.
He
said
the
war
has
ultimately
been
“a
devastating,
strategic
failure”
for
Putin.
“We’ve
seen
this
aggression
against
Ukraine
become
a
strategic
failure
across
the
board,”
he
said.
“Russia
is
weaker
economically,
militarily,
its
standing
around
the
world
has
plummeted.”
Blinken
expects
the
U.S.
will
learn
more
specifics
about
the
deal
between
Putin
and
Prigozhin,
as
well
as
what
will
become
of
the
Wagner
Group,
in
the
coming
weeks
and
months.
