Key points of Putin's address to nation on attempted coup by Wagner PMC

A criminal case has been opened against Yevgeny Prigozhin. Russian President Putin made a televised address to the nation after Yevgeny Prigozhin, owner of the Wagner Group military company, called for an armed uprising and moved his troops on the southern city of Rostov-on-Don, Moscow, Russia, Azernews reports.

Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the nation amid an attempted coup by the private military company Wagner. He called the actions of the rebels a "betrayal" and called for unity.
Late Friday, Wagner PMC boss Yevgeny Prigozhin accused the Russian military of targeting his group's base, which the defense ministry strongly denies.

The Russian authorities, for their part, have launched a criminal investigation against Prigozhin for organizing an armed insurgency.

The importance of unity

President Putin said that "Russia today is engaged in a grueling struggle for its future", confronting "neo-Nazis and their masters". He also stressed that "essentially the entire power of the Western military, economic and information machine" is directed against the country.

"This battle, when the fate of our nation is being decided", requires national unity and consolidation, Putin said in his address. According to the president, all internal conflicts and bickering must now be put aside as "our external enemies can and will use them to undermine us inside the country".

The head of the Russian state stressed that any actions that drive a wedge between Russians are nothing but "undermining our country and our people."

Bitter Lessons of History

Putin reminded Russians that a similar scenario played out in the country in 1917 when the First World War was taking place. He described how "intrigues, squabbles, politicking behind the backs of the army and the people" led to "the collapse of the state" and "the tragedy of the Civil War".

"Russians killed Russians, brothers killed brothers, and various political adventurers and foreign powers profited from this," the president said.

Putin has vowed to prevent this from happening and to protect Russia and its people, "including from internal rebellion".

The nature of the threat

In his address, Putin clearly called the attempted coup by the PMC "a betrayal". He cited the "huge ambitions and personal interests" of individuals as the reasons for this "betrayal of his country and his people". He went on to accuse those responsible, without naming Prigozhin specifically, of turning their backs on the overall war effort in Ukraine and the memory of the fallen fighters.

If successful, Putin said, the coup would lead to "anarchy and fratricide", ultimately leading to Russia's "defeat" and "capitulation".

The president described "any internal insurgency" as a mortal threat to the Russian state and nation. The President pledged to take "tough measures" against the insurgents who had "voluntarily taken the path of treachery" and were preparing an "armed mutiny".
The perpetrators will be brought to justice before the Russian people, the president assured the public.

Measures taken

"All necessary orders have been given to the armed forces and other authorities," Putin said. He added that a special anti-terrorist security protocol had been introduced in Moscow, the Moscow Region, and a number of other localities.

The Russian president acknowledged that the situation in Rostov-on-Don, in southern Russia, remained "complicated" and that the activities of local civil and military authorities were "effectively blocked". However, the state will take "decisive action to stabilize" the situation in the city.

Concluding his address to the nation, President Putin pledged to do everything possible to protect "the country, [and] protect the constitutional order, life, security and freedom of citizens."