Prigozhin speaks out for the first time since the uprising: “Didn’t want to overthrow Putin” Hundreds of thousands at Pride parades in New York and San Francisco

The head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary unit, Yevgeny Prigozhin, denied in his first speech after the failed uprising over the weekend that he had sought a change of power in Moscow.

“We were going to demonstrate, not to overthrow the authorities in the country,” the 62-year-old said in a voice message distributed by his press service on Telegram today. Prigozhin has not provided any information about his current whereabouts.

Again he repeated his accusation against the Russian Ministry of Defense of firing on military camps of mercenaries last Friday. According to him, 30 Wagner fighters were killed. In addition to the dissolution of the Wagner group envisaged by the ministry, this was the reason for the march on Moscow.

Prigozhin, long regarded as a close confidant of Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin but branded a traitor after the uprising began, admitted that the advance had claimed lives. “During our march, not a single soldier was killed on the ground. We regret that we were forced to shoot down flying objects, but that is because they bombed us,” he said.

According to reports from Russian military bloggers, six helicopters and a Russian army plane were destroyed and their crews killed in the collision. Officially, the Russian leadership has not acknowledged these losses.

Prigozhin, in turn, praised the march on Moscow as an example of how the attack on Ukraine ordered by Putin on February 24, 2022 should have been carried out. A rapid advance of your own units, eliminating all enemy military objects along the way – and with practically no casualties. On their own side, two soldiers died and several mercenaries were injured, Prigozhin said.

Until recently, Wagner’s mercenary unit played an important role in Russia’s offensive war against Ukraine, especially during the months-long bloody storming of the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. According to media reports, tens of thousands of armed people were killed. Battle was not declared until early June, and Prigozhin withdrew his units from the embattled city to replenish them in the rear.

Prigozhin emphasized the role of Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko in ending the uprising. He brokered a peaceful solution to avoid bloodshed in Russia. According to information from the Kremlin, Prigozhin should leave for Belarus after the uprising ends.