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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Bradley Jolly

Putin breaks silence after Wagner coup as Prigozhin exiled to Belarus

Vladimir Putin says he is confident in realising all his plans in the "special military operation" after the Wagner rebellion.

Breaking his silence following yesterday's extraordinary events in his nation, the leader stated his top priority remains his brutal war in Ukraine.

Speaking on Russian state television, Putin, 70, said: "We feel confident, and, of course, we are in a position to implement all the plans and tasks ahead of us [in Ukraine].

"This also applies to the country's defence, it applies to the special military operation, it applies to the economy as a whole and its individual areas."

Ukrainian soldiers fire towards Russian positions on the frontline (AP)

A planned meeting of Russia's Security Council will take place next week despite this weekend's chaos.

But Putin previously claimed the attempted coup had put Russia's very existence at threat.

Putin's location is not currently known after reports of both his presidential planes fleeing Moscow yesterday.

A Ukrainian soldier gestures as he fires towards Russian positions (AP)

In a surprise development yesterday, Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin ordered his mercenaries to halt their march 200km (120miles) from Moscow to "avoid shedding Russian blood".

He put out a voicenote on his Telegram channel saying he has agreed to "stop" the movement of troops.

Prigozhin will move to Belarus under a deal brokered by the Belarusian president to end today's armed mutiny against Russia's military leadership, the Kremlin said.

Members of Wagner group look from a military vehicle in Rostov-on-Don after the surprising U-turn (AFP via Getty Images)

The Wagner boss and his fighters will also be safe from prosecution under the agreement, it added.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Alexander Lukashenko had offered to mediate, with Russian President Vladimir Putin's agreement, because he had known Prigozhin personally for around 20 years.

And today Prigozhin was pictured grinning and taking selfies with fans as he was apparently forced into "exile".

Mercenaries patrol the heart of Rostov-on-Don yesterday after seizing the city (AFP via Getty Images)

The 62-year-old looked unfazed at the failure of his armed march on Moscow as he returned to the Wagner base of operations.

As Wagner mercenaries left Rostov on Sunday crowds chanted “Wagner! Wagner!” as the motley assortment of war criminals moved out of the town they had captured on their way to Moscow.

The warlord was ferried through the streets in a black 4x4 stopping to take pics with smiling locals.

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