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Kremlin propagandist Vladimir Solovyov has said that the uprising led by Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has revealed information to the "enemy," as he branded the rebellion as an act of treason that has caused colossal damage to Russia's reputation.
Solovyov made the comments on his radio show Polniy Kontakt (Full Contact), which is also streamed online. A 15-minute clip of the broadcast was shared on Twitter by Julia Davis, founder of the Russian Media Monitor watchdog group, late on Thursday.
Prigozhin's short-lived mutiny on June 24 saw his Wagner Group fighters advance from southern Russia to Moscow as part of a "march of justice" against the country's military leadership. That followed a monthslong public feud with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov over how they have handled the war in Ukraine.
Solovyov, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said that he warned Prigozhin not to commit "treason" prior to his rebellion, according to a translation provided by Russian Media Monitor, which is run by journalist Julia Davis.
"It should be noted that [Prigozhin], but not Wagner fighters, often spoke out extremely disrespectfully about the people who fought alongside him," he said. "I don't think that is right and I told him so."
The Russian state TV host said he expressed these sentiments to Prigozhin in private conversations.
"I tried to warn him, this is treason against the Motherland. I tried to warn him against thinking in this vein," he said.
Solovyov said no one could have "dreamed" up that Prigozhin would march on Moscow with his Wagner Group fighters.
"This is a terrible tragedy, it's a civil war!" he said.
"The West is rubbing its hands. They say, 'This means that it's possible in Russia! It means that this kind of disobedience is possible!', so you can gather several thousand people along with equipment, which was not theirs, it belongs to the Defense Ministry, and march on Moscow. Walking on the homefront!"
The Kremlin propagandist noted that Prigozhin was able to advance near Moscow with little resistance.
"You didn't have to break a line of defense, you ended up straight on the homefront. Then, everyone starts to watch, how will Russians react, what will they do? You've unwittingly revealed an insane amount of information to the enemy! Americans are happy, they're rubbing their hands," he said.
Prigozhin has "caused colossal damage to our country's reputation," Solovyov continued.
"You sent armed people against our nation's capital. Whose orders were they following? Orders of the Supreme Commander? No. Orders of the Defense Ministry? No. Orders of an entrepreneur?"
The mutiny was "not supposed to happen in our country!" said Solovyov.
"Leading heroes to fight against their own people. How else can this be perceived? And to call it 'the March of Justice?' What kind of justice is it when our own guys perish? This is how you lose your country. This is how you lose your nation."
He added: "If Prigohzin didn't understand this, it's a tragedy."
A criminal case against Prigozhin for armed mutiny was officially dropped on June 27 as part of a deal brokered by Belarus.
The Institute for the Study of War, a U.S.-based think tank, assessed on Tuesday that Putin is pushing to reassert control after the rebellion, but has likely decided that he can't directly eliminate Prigozhin.
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About the writer
Isabel van Brugen is a Newsweek Reporter based in Kuala Lumpur. Her focus is reporting on the Russia-Ukraine war. Isabel ... Read more