government meeting.
On Monday, Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu appeared in a video published by his ministry for the first time since the Wagner mutiny.
According to the Russian state news agency TASS, Russia’s intelligence services are also investigating whether Western spy agencies were involved in the Wagner Group uprising.
How are other leaders reacting?
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told DW that the Wagner mutiny shows “the danger of being dependent on mercenaries.”
“The events we saw unfolding in Russia over the weekend demonstrates the weakness and the fragility of the Russian regime,” he said, speaking from the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius.
He added, however, that the mutiny is “an internal Russian issue.”
“We need to remember these are internal Russian matters, it’s not for NATO,” Stoltenberg told DW. “What matters for NATO is Ukraine.”
NATO chief speaks to DW after Wagner mutiny in Russia
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden spoke out on the issue for the first time on Monday, dismissing the Russian government’s allegations that Washington and its allies could have played a role in the uprising.
“We made clear we were not involved, we had nothing to do with this,” Biden said.
What happened during the Wagner mutiny?
In a shock move on Friday evening, Prigozhin and Wagner fighters launched a revolt against Russia’s military leadership that lasted into Saturday.
Wagner forces seized the Russian military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don, while other fighters advanced on the Russian capital of Moscow. Some reports said Wagner forces came as close as 400 kilometres (250 miles) from Moscow.
Russian military bloggers reported that six Russian army helicopters and one aircraft were destroyed, killing the crews. Russian officials have not confirmed the deaths, but Prigozhin acknowledged that Wagner troops “were forced to shoot down flying objects.”
Prigozhin abruptly called off the advance on Saturday, following the deal between the Wagner chief and the Kremlin that was brokered by Belarus.
Putin denounced the mutiny as treason and vowed to punish those taking part. However, after the deal was brokered with Prigozhin, Putin said he’d accepted the terms of the deal.
In exchange for the retreat of Wagner troops, Russia said it would drop criminal charges against Prigozhin and that it would not prosecute Wagner troops.
