The attempt by the Wagner Private Military Company (PMC) to stage an armed mutiny in Russia showed the danger of transferring military power into private hands, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said upon arrival at an EU summit on Thursday.
“Certainly, what happened in Russia will play a role [at the summit]. It’s beyond obvious that transferring military power into private hands is irresponsible. It is way too dangerous,” he pointed out.
According to him, the West was closely following the June 24 events without interfering in the situation.
“We don’t take sides in what happens in Russia,” he went on to say. “Our goal is not to change the government in Russia; our goal is an independent Ukraine,” the German chancellor stressed.
On the evening of June 23, Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed on Telegram channel that his units had come under attack, for which he blamed Russia’s military authorities. The Russian Defense Ministry slammed the claims as false. The Federal Security Service (FSB) launched a criminal probe into calls for armed mutiny. Russian President Vladimir Putin in a televised address to the nation described the Wagner group’s actions as betrayal. Later, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, in coordination with Putin, held talks with Prigozhin resulting in the PMC turning its units around and returning to field camps. The criminal case was dismissed, the FSB announced. Lukashenko noted later that he had suggested Prigozhin turn an abandoned Belarusian military base into a Wagner camp. He also promised him full security and that Wagner forces could relocate to Belarus.
