Read about the conversation between PM Narendra Modi and Putin
Over the phone, on Friday, PM Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the Ukraine war and the recent Wagner mutiny.
PM Narendra Modi had expressed his support for what the Kremlin described as the Russian leadership’s decisive moves in dealing with the Wagner mercenary group’s mutiny last Saturday.
The phone call between the two presidents comes less than a week after the Russian leadership successfully averted a massive coup by the Wagner Group, commanded by Yevgeny Prigozhin.
The private mercenary army had gained control of two key south Russian cities but put off the march on Moscow when the Kremlin mediated a deal with Prigozhin with the assistance of Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko.
Later, in a video message on Telegram, Prigozhin denied wanting to overthrow the Russian government. He stated that the march was for justice. Following the mutiny, questions about Putin’s leadership have been raised, with the West predicting that the Russian president was no longer “invincible.”
According to Bloomberg, the Russian president targeted prominent players suspected of supporting the 24-hour Wagner mutiny. A high-ranking general was held for interrogation.
Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu‘s opponents in the security services have increased their internal calls for his resignation. For months, Prigozhin has been publicly criticising Shoigu, a longstanding Putin loyalist, over the failure of the invasion of Ukraine.
Putin has spent the week attempting to reassure important constituents through televised public events with the military, business, and other groups. While polls showed his public support remained robust, questions about his authority among the government and economic elite spread.
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