US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Wagner mercenary group’s revolt against Russian President Vladimir Putin was a “direct challenge” to his authority, and that the US is focused on supporting Ukraine in its war to drive out Russian forces.
(Bloomberg) — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Wagner mercenary group’s revolt against Russian President Vladimir Putin was a “direct challenge” to his authority, and that the US is focused on supporting Ukraine in its war to drive out Russian forces.
“This raises profound questions. It shows real cracks,” Blinken said Sunday on CBS’s Face the Nation. “We can’t speculate or know exactly where that’s going to go. We do know that Putin has a lot more to answer for in the weeks and months ahead.”
Putin faced the biggest threat to his nearly quarter-century grip on power after Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin led his troops toward Moscow. The situation has stabilized after the Kremlin said Putin guaranteed that Prigozhin could travel to Belarus and would drop criminal mutiny charges against him and the Wagner fighters involved in the rebellion.
Read more: Russia Retreats From the Brink After Armed Mutiny Against Putin
“This is an unfolding story. We haven’t seen the last act,” Blinken said, adding US intelligence hasn’t seen any change in Russia’s nuclear posture amid the crisis.
Blinken also added that the US had contact with Russian officials about the safety of US personnel and citizens in the region.
“I instructed my own team, at the president’s behest, to engage with the Russians first and foremost to make sure that they understood their responsibilities in terms of protecting our own personnel, ensuring their safety and well being, as well as any American citizens in Russia,” he said.
US intelligence agencies briefed senior military and administration officials on Wednesday that Prigozhin was preparing to take action against senior Russian defense officials, the New York Times reported earlier, citing officials it didn’t identify.
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