WASHINGTON – President Biden is making it clear the U.S. had nothing to do with last weekend’s brief but shocking uprising against the Kremlin led by Wagner Mercenary Chief Yevgeny Prigozhin.
“We had nothing to do with it,” Biden declared Monday. “This was part of a struggle within a Russian system.”
Biden made sure that message was delivered by the U.S. ambassador to the Russians over the weekend as his administration monitored the situation closely, leaving no room for Putin to blame it on the West.
“It’s still too early to reach a definitive conclusion about where this is going,” said Biden. “No matter what happened in Russia, we the United States will continue to support Ukraine’s defense.”
Putin addressed his nation on Monday, too, claiming the rebellion would have been put down by his military and accusing the organizers of betraying Russia.
ABC News reports Moscow struck a deal with Prigozhin as his troops were within a hundred miles of the Kremlin. When the mercenary leader realized Russian defense leaders were going to align with Putin, he turned his forces around.
In an audio recording, Prigozhin claimed the group was on a “march” to protest their being absorbed into the Russian army and not to overthrow Putin’s government.
Brad Bowman of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies told CBN’s Faith Nation Putin will have to handle this situation carefully.
“This is the most significant challenge to Putin’s power arguably in two decades,” stated Bowman. “He understands that Wagner has been one of the more effective military outfits in Ukraine, but he also had an unprecedented challenge to his authority so how he manages this balancing act is going to be very interesting.”
Russian authorities say they will not charge Prigozhin or his troops for the armed rebellion. Prigozhin is supposed to go into exile in Belarus, but it’s unclear where he is now.
“(Prigozhin) basically spoke the truth out loud about this whole war in Ukraine,” continued Bowman. “He basically said it’s been a big sham, that there was no threat from Ukraine, there was no, quote, need ‘de-Nazify’ Ukraine. We all, anyone who’s willing to look at facts knows that to be true, but here we have the head of the Wagner group saying that, which is a direct challenge to Putin’s whole premise for this unprovoked war.”
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