Putin met with Wagner leader after short-lived mutiny, Kremlin says

The Kremlin on Monday said Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 29 met with commanders of the mercenary Wagner Group in Moscow—the first disclosure of such a meeting between Putin and the rebel group. The group’s leader Yevgeny Prigozhin and his forces on June 24 staged a brief armed rebellion against Moscow. Prigozhin ended the mutiny and temporarily relocated to Belarus after the Russian government agreed not to prosecute him. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said last week that the Wagner chief was no longer in the country. The Kremlin has refused to comment on Prigozhin’s current location.

What was discussed during the three-hour meeting? Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday said Prigozhin and his commanders shared with Putin their version of the rebellion and said they still support the Russian government. Prigozhin claimed that the uprising was intended to protest how the war in Ukraine has been conducted, not to overthrow the government. He had previously accused top military leaders of withholding supplies from his mercenaries. 

Dig deeper: Listen to Mary Reichard and military expert Bradley Bowman discuss the role of the Wagner Group in the war on Ukraine on The World and Everything in It podcast.