Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke on the Wagner group's armed rebellion in Russia and accused Vladimir Putin of "creating this threat himself" in the country. He also feels that the Russian President is "very scared" and "hiding somewhere" as rebel mercenaries advance on Moscow.
However, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner force, stated on Saturday that he has issued orders for his mercenaries to cease their advance towards Moscow and instead retreat to their field camps in Ukraine, in order to prevent any loss of Russian lives.
"The man from the Kremlin is obviously very scared and is probably hiding somewhere," Zelensky said in his daily address to the nation, adding that Putin has “created this threat himself.”
"We all remember how the head of Russia threatened the world in 2021. He had some ultimatums, he was trying to show a kind of strength...
"The year 2022 showed that he confused – confused his illusions and the lies he was fed with strength. They in the Kremlin are capable of resorting to any terror, capable of resorting to any stupidity, but they cannot provide even one percent of the necessary control. And they are the problem.
"In one day, they lost several of their million-plus cities and showed all Russian bandits, mercenaries, oligarchs and anyone else how easy it is to capture Russian cities and, probably, arsenals with weapons.
"Now, it is very important that no one in the world remains silent because of being afraid of this Russian chaos. All the actions of the leaders now can be historic. Every word of journalists is worth its weight in gold. It is necessary to clearly name the source of the problem. And if someone in the world tries to ignore the situation, if someone in the world is under the illusion that the Kremlin is capable of regaining control... this only postpones the problem until the next breakthrough of chaos – even more dangerous.
"We all know the solutions," Zelensky wrote on his tweet.
Moscow had been preparing for the arrival of the private army under the command of the rebellious leader. President Vladimir Putin had previously warned of severe consequences in response to their actions.
