Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu met with military commanders as he frantically clung to his position.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the commander of the weekend's extraordinary uprising by Wagner mercenaries, demanded his head. Russian President Vladimir Putin's associate Prigozhin stated that Shoigu and army chief General Valery Gerasimov were to blame for Russia's inept conflict in Ukraine.
Russia Shows Defense Minister on TV
The 68-year-old Shoigu was not spotted publicly as the Wagner insurgents drew within 120 miles of Moscow before calling off their rebellion. According to The Sun, Putin has not been seen in public since the mutiny abruptly ended late Saturday night, and Prigozhgin's location is unclear.
In the aftermath of the failed rebellion and amid rumors that he had already been removed from office, Shoigu was anxious to maintain the impression that he was still in command.
In footage released by his ministry early this morning, he can be seen meeting Russia's Western contingent of soldiers fighting in eastern Ukraine while wearing military fatigues. According to the ministry, Colonel-General Yevgeny Nikiforov briefed him on "the actual situation at the front" and "the character of enemy actions."
Shoigu was captured on camera during both a meeting with senior officers and an aerial tour of the battle positions. However, it was impossible to determine the date of the visit. One image depicts the time on Shoigu's wristwatch to be just before one o'clock.
However, Russian pro-war bloggers assert that the footage is from Friday before the 24-hour uprising began. Despite the war's ignominious setbacks, Putin has not dismissed a single member of his top team, many of whom are now in their late sixties or early seventies.
Gerasmov, 67, is also still employed despite Prigozhin's demands that he be dismissed and even prosecuted. The 62-year-old Wagner leader has not been seen since he agreed to turn back his coup forces marching on Moscow.
As part of the quick-fix agreement with Putin, he was supposed to go into exile in authoritarian Belarus, but there is no indication that he has done so. Moscow is abuzz with rumors that Putin, 70, has chosen Tula governor and former deputy defense minister Alexei Dyumin, 50, to replace Shoigu as the next defense minister.
Wagner Mutiny
Per Daily Mail, Prigozhin has been warned to be "extremely cautious around open windows" after reaching an amnesty agreement with the Kremlin following the attempted mutiny of his mercenary group over the weekend.
Following clashes with Russia's regular forces en route to Moscow, Prigozhin abruptly suspended his troops' "march for justice" on Saturday after reaching an agreement that he claimed would prevent carnage and a potential civil war in Russia.
Under the provisions of the agreement, which ended the most significant challenge to Vladimir Putin's 20-year rule, Prigozhin will go into exile in Belarus and will not be prosecuted, but he will no longer command the powerful Wagner group.
Despite the agreement, the Russian newspaper Kommersant and three major news agencies reported on Monday that the case against Prigozhin is still open and being investigated. Between 12 and 20 years in prison could await him.
In addition, despite the agreement, a former CIA director warned the warlord on Sunday to "be extremely cautious around open windows."
While some of Prigozhin's supporters praised him as a hero, members of Russia's convict army issued a threat against the Wagner warlord, accusing him of betrayal for abandoning his rebellion against the Kremlin.
Shoigu's emergence appeared to be a signal from Putin to Prigozhin that the embattled Russian dictator would not dismiss his defense minister despite a demand from the Wagner chief to do so.
A group of prisoners-turned-fighters said in an online video that Prigozhin's decision to retreat before reaching Moscow was "cowardice." They claimed that his supporters now confronted retaliation from the Russian military and that he had "double-crossed" them by reaching an amnesty agreement with the Kremlin.
According to The Telegraph, the video originated from one of the Storm-Z brigades of the Russian army, which are comprised of convicted criminals offered amnesty in exchange for battling.
While Wagner has also recruited prisoners under the same conditions, Storm-Z units are distinct from the mercenary organization. Despite this distinction, Prigozhin is regarded as an unofficial commander-in-chief by the majority of the units' soldiers.
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