Emmanuel Macron is closely monitoring the situation in Russia after the Wagner mercenary group launched an armed mutiny against the Kremlin's forces, the French president's office said Saturday.
"The president is following the situation very closely. We remain focussed on supporting Ukraine," the Elysee said. A German government spokesperson said that Berlin is looking at the situation as well.
Earlier on Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said an armed mutiny by Wagner mercenaries was a "stab in the back" and that the group's chief Yevgeny Prigozhin had betrayed Russia, as he vowed to punish the dissidents.
Putin spoke to his nation after a night of uncertainty that saw Wagner fighters cross into Russia from occupied Ukraine, with Prigozhin vowing they were "ready to die" to unseat Moscow's army leadership.
The attempted insurrection by the chief of the #Wagner private military company, Evgeny Prigozhin, amounts to a betrayal of #Russia and its people, Putin said in an address to the nation on Saturday. pic.twitter.com/AVYZFoCoXM
— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) June 24, 2023
Prigozhin said his fighters control key military sites in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don.
"This is a stab in the back to our country, to our nation," Putin said.
"We have been faced with exactly betrayal. Extravagant ambitions and personal interests led to treason," he said referring to Prigozhin, who has been known as "Putin's chef" for his catering companies supplying the Kremlin.
Putin said those rebelling will be punished and that authorities have "received the necessary orders" to do so, with Moscow declaring an "anti-terror operation regime."
"All those who consciously stood on the path of betrayal, who prepared an armed rebellion, stood on the path of blackmail and terrorist methods, will suffer inevitable punishment, before the law and before our people," Putin vowed.
He described the Wagner attempt to unseat Russia's top generals as a "deadly threat to our statehood and to us as a nation" and urged Russians to unite.
Putin said the Wagner mutiny came as Russia's Ukraine offensive was deciding "the fate of our people", comparing the timing to the 1917 revolution which happened as Russia fought in the First World War.
"But victory was stolen (then)," he said. "And in the end, the tragedy of the (Russian) Civil War."
"We will not let this repeat itself. We will protect our people, our statehood from any threats. Including from internal betrayal," he said.
(With newsagencies)
