2. Putin says the uprising was "doomed to fail" and that "its organizers, even though they lost their sense of right and wrong, couldn't have failed to realize that." But then, Putin also admitted that Russian airmen were killed by Prigozhin during his blackmail/mutiny, but that both them and the mutineer Wagnerites were heroes in the end — I can’t make sense of it, except to laugh at him. Putin said almost nothing, speaking for just 5 minutes. And nothing newsworthy.
The part of the tweet above that says
He also seems say Ukraine was involved somehow and calls the revolt "revenge for their failed counteroffensive"
is wrong, not sure intentionally or not. The idea behind his words was that the “enemies in Kiev as well as their Western curators” wanted to see Russians killing each other, sea of blood, etc. He did not imply that Ukraine or/and the West are somehow behind it. Sort of they were cheering on for the worst to happen - Russian soldiers killing each other, as well as civilians, Russia falling apart - especially in view of “their failed so-called counteroffensive, but they miscalculated”. The idea is that they hoped they would recover their losses that way. I hope that makes it clear. I have not read the rest of the tweet, so not sure if there are other inconsistencies.
In regards to heroes, he only called the perished pilots heroes “that saved Russia from tragic and destructive (or devastating?) consequences”. He didn’t call the mercenaries heroes. In particular, he said that “At the same time, we knew and know that the absolute majority of commanders and fighters of the Wagner group are also Russian patriots, who are also loyal to their people and country. They proved it with their bravery on the battlefield, while liberating Donbas and Novorossiya. They (the organizers) tried to use them in the dark against their own brothers in arms with whom they were fighting together for their country and its future.” He said that they were used by the organizers and, hence, were also betrayed by them. He thanked “those fighters and commanders of the Wagner group that made the decision, the only correct decision, and chose to stop at the last line over fratricide. Today they have an opportunity to continue serving Russia by signing a contract with the Ministry of Defense or other Agencies.” Or they can return to their families. “Those who want, may leave to Belarus. The promise I have given will be fulfilled. I will repeat, the choice is yours, but I am confident it will be the choice of Russian fighters that recognized their tragic mistake”. He then proceeded to thank Lukashenko very briefly (like really briefly) and repeated that most important was patriotism of citizens and consolidation of the entire Russian society, which played the decisive role.
As you can see, these little things make quite a bit of difference. I see many of these type of “misinterpretations” that make for a whole new meaning that wasn’t there and was never intended.
As a side note, another thought In regards to those leaving to Belarus. Let’s say thousands of them will. Are they just going to sit there in their compounds “training” and getting paid? Paid by who? And for what?
