Prigozhin is following safety tips and has been staying away from windows! In an almost 12-minute audio released this afternoon, he summarized the reasons that led to the beginning of the armed rebellion in Russia on June 23rd.
Basically, he attributed it to the threat of extinction of the Wagner group on July 1st. According to Prigozhin, orders issued by the Russian General Staff in June were aimed at wiping out all mercenary groups in Russia, including his Wagner group.
He further said that another main objective was to correct what he called "serious mistakes" in the way the Russian invasion of Ukraine is being carried out.
He lamented the fact that he had shot down so many aircraft and that so many Russian pilots and crew had died. According to some sources, on 6/24 Russia lost more planes, pilots and crew than on any other day of its invasion of Ukraine. Prigozhin said he was forced to as the aircraft opened fire on his men.
With regard to the end of the riot, he said that he did not want to cause further bloodshed, stressing that his aim was not to overthrow Putin, but rather to replace Shoigu and Gerasimov.
