The Kremlin said today that Russian President Vladimir Putin met with the head of the Wagner mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin on June 29, five days after its fighters advanced on Moscow in a brief mutiny.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin invited 35 people to the meeting, including unit commanders, and that it lasted three hours.
Wagner’s commanders told Putin they were his soldiers and would continue to fight for him, Peskov said.
The brief insurgency under Prigozhin, in which Wagner fighters took control of the southern city of Rostov, presented Putin with his most serious challenge since taking power in Russia.
Their rebellion ended with an agreement brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
Putin has since thanked his military and security forces for averting chaos and civil war.
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