In a nightly address, President Zelensky said that the rebellion of the "Wagner" mercenaries on Saturday, June 24, showcased the lack of control by the “owners” of Russia. He emphasized that the world witnessed a state of complete chaos and unpredictability on Russian territory, despite it being heavily armed.
"The world has seen that the owners of Russia do not control anything. Nothing at all. Just complete chaos. The complete absence of any predictability. And this is on Russian territory, which is packed with weapons," he said.
Referring to previous threats made by the Russian leadership in 2021, Zelensky noted that the events of 2022 revealed a stark contrast between the illusions and lies propagated by the Kremlin and the actual reality on the ground.
"In one day, they lost several of their million-strong cities and showed all Russian bandits, mercenaries, oligarchs, and anyone else how easy it is there to capture Russian cities and, probably, arsenals with weapons," Zelensky added.
"It is very important now that no one in the world is silent because they are afraid of Russian chaos."
"And if someone in the world tries to put the situation to sleep, if someone in the world succumbs to the illusion that the Kremlin is able to regain control, then it only postpones the problem until the next breakthrough of chaos - even more dangerous," he warned.
Zelensky then switched to Russian, stating, "The man from the Kremlin is obviously very afraid and is probably hiding somewhere, not showing up. I'm sure he’s not in Moscow anymore. Calling somewhere, begging for something. He knows what he is afraid of because he created this threat himself. All the evil, all the losses, all the hatred – he spreads it himself. And the longer he can run between his bunkers, the more you will lose everything, everyone connected with Russia."
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Meanwhile, Mykhailo Podolyak, the adviser to the head of the office of the President of Ukraine, commented that the rebellion, even though it was halted, humiliated Putin and challenged his monopoly on violence.
"Prigozhin's remarkable choice... You nearly toppled Putin, gained control of the central authorities, made it to Moscow, and suddenly... you relinquished it. All because of one highly specific intermediary with a questionable reputation – Lukashenko, who promised security guarantees from the very person (Putin) who had ordered your destruction that morning. And due to the fear experienced by Putin's elite over the past 24 hours, it’s certain that this order will be carried out... although not without benefits: Prigozhin has humiliated Putin/the [Russian] state, and demonstrated the end of a monopoly on violence," Podolyak tweeted.
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