Russian President Vladimir Putin met with paramilitary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin days after the latter’s short-lived attempted mutiny last month, according to a spokesperson for the Kremlin.
Prigozhin, who founded the Wagner Group, had publicly expressed his dissatisfaction with top Russian military leaders, whom he accused of withholding necessary supplies from his troops who were leading the front lines of Russia’s war in Ukraine. At the peak of their dispute, Prigozhin attempted to capture two top Russian military leaders in late June, though his plan was foiled.
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Prigozhin and Putin met on June 29, five days after the mutiny ended, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced on Monday. It lasted about three hours, and Putin invited nearly three dozen people to the meeting, including Prigozhin and his unit commanders.
"The only thing we can say is that the president gave his assessment of the company's actions at the front during the special military operation [in Ukraine] and also gave his assessment of the events of 24 June [the day of the mutiny]," Peskov told reporters.
"The commanders outlined their version of what happened. They emphasized that they are staunch supporters and soldiers of the head of state and the supreme commander in chief,” he continued. “They also said that they are ready to continue fighting for the motherland.”
Prigozhin’s troops briefly took control of the southern city of Rostov-on-Don and a military headquarters building with little resistance, though that success, despite authorities' prior knowledge of the plan, raised questions about the capability of Russia's forces.
Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko was able to broker a truce between Putin and Prigozhin.
Russian Gen. Sergey Surovikin, who previously served as the top commander in Ukraine, had advance warning of Prigozhin's plans, the New York Times reported last month, citing U.S. officials. Both his whereabouts and his possible involvement in the attempted mutiny remain unknown, though the Moscow Times reported on June 28 that Surovikin had been arrested.
On the day of Putin's meeting with Prigozhin and his lieutenants, the U.S. Department of Defense acknowledged there were still "some elements" of the Wagner Group in Ukraine, though many had not been on the front lines as they had been during the monthslong battle of Bakhmut, which was one of the deadliest battles of the war.
The Wagner Group has operations and influence in a number of African nations, where they act on behalf of Russia's interests and will continue to do so, according to top Kremlin leaders. U.S. officials have said in the time since the attempted mutiny that they are still concerned about the Wagner Group's influence in Africa.
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“Since 2016, Wagner has infiltrated African countries, like the Central African Republic and more recently Mali, undermining their sovereignty, stealing their natural resources, killing their people,” National Security Council coordinator John Kirby told reporters on June 30. “No indication that Wagner is decreasing its intent to exploit African countries despite the events of last week.”
He said the Malian transition government has paid more than $200 million to the Wagner Group since late 2021, while terror attacks and violent crime have increased in Mali’s “center region” since they were deployed there in December 2021. He also claimed, without providing evidence, that Prigozhin and his forces attempted to "eliminate" an African leader from Chad.