The prospect of a nuclear-armed superpower falling into disarray terrified neighboring countries throughout Europe and put the White House on alert.
President Biden on Saturday was briefed in a rare meeting of all senior U.S. officials from intelligence, defense and diplomatic parts of government. Officials in numerous European capitals went into emergency sessions. U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken was in urgent consultations with his counterparts in six nations, including Germany and Japan, as well as the European Union as all sought to make sense of the rapidly unfolding developments.
Russian private military contractor Wagner is busy boosting its brand as its fighters try to subdue Ukraine, trading secrecy for war propaganda movies. Prigozhin’s mercenaries have fought alongside Russian troops in Ukraine, where they have been known for their use of spectacularly brutal tactics. During the bloody struggle for the eastern city of Bakhmut, Wagner used prisoner recruits for “human wave” attacks and executed those from its own ranks who faltered or tried to run away.
“We are patriots,” he said in an audio message posted on his Telegram channel, calling the uprising a “march of justice.” Prigozhin posted a video of himself, purportedly taken inside, and said Wagner troops who took part in the rebellion had crossed over from Ukraine with virtually no resistance from Russian troops.
Prigozhin had denounced the Russian military establishment for months with no apparent repercussions, seemingly with tacit permission from Putin. But his declaration of armed rebellion, issued late Friday, crossed a line and triggered a call by authorities for his arrest.
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