By Charles Nwoke
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday applauded pilots who were killed during the failed weekend uprising, confirming earlier reports by military bloggers that several aircraft were shot down by Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Wagner mercenaries.
Wagner militia on Saturday took control of the southern municipality of Rostov-on-Don and its military command centre leading the Ukraine campaign, then driving an armed convoy within 200 km (125 miles) of Moscow before aborting their rebellion.
“The courage and self-sacrifice of the fallen heroes-pilots saved Russia from tragic, devastating consequences,” Putin said in his first public address about the mutiny since the weekend pogrom commenced.
Some Russian Telegram channels monitoring Russia’s military activity, including the blog Rybar with over a million subscribers, reported on Saturday that 13 Russian pilots were slain during the day-long mutiny.
Among the aircraft downed were three Mi-8 MTPR electronic warfare helicopters, and an Il-18 aircraft with its crew, Rybar reported. However, the condition of the downed aircraft is still very sketchy.
President Putin said he had intentionally let Saturday’s mutiny go on as long as it did to prevent unnecessary bloodshed, blaming Wagner for the deaths that did happen.
“They lied to them, they pushed them to death: under fire, to shoot their own,” Putin said.
Without mentioning Prigozhin’s name in his speech, Putin said Wagner fighters who chose not to sign deals with the military under a Defence Ministry order could either relocate to Belarus or simply return to their various homes.
Reuters senior Russian legislator, however, called for a penalty.
“I believe that forgiveness should not apply to those rebels who killed the pilots, in fact, their comrades-in-arms,” lawmaker Leonid Slutsky, who has been involved in several negotiations related to Moscow’s campaign in Ukraine.
“These people should be brought to justice and suffer the most severe punishment.”
Leave a Comment