The hosts of “Fox & Friends” earlier this week discussed Wagner Group head Yevgeny Prigozhin’s short-lived armed rebellion that ended last Saturday less than 24 hours after it began, suggesting that the failed rebellion shows that Russian President Vladimir Putin is weak, Mediaite reported.
Co-host Steve Doocy suggested that the while the rebellion, in which Prigozhin sought to oust Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and other military officials, did not succeed, it still made Putin look weak.
Co-host Brian Kilmeade noted the difference between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and President Putin, saying that when Zelesnky is threatened, he keeps fighting but when Putin is threatened by the Wagner Group, he “runs to St. Petersburg.”
When Doocy suggested that Putin no longer looks strong, Ainsley Earhardt added that Prigozhin’s rebellion was “the biggest threat to Putin” since he came to power 23 years ago.
The Associated Press reported on Tuesday that Prigozhin will be prosecuted for the rebellion.,
According to the AP, a private jet with Prigozhin aboard flew from Rostov to an airbase near Minsk in Belarus on Tuesday morning. His arrival in Belarus was confirmed by President Alexander Lukashenko who said that the Wagner chief and some of his fighters would be permitted to remain there “for some time,” but at their “own expense.”
On Tuesday, Moscow said plans were underway for the 25,000 Wagner troops who were fighting in Ukraine to turn over their heavy weapons to Russian forces.
Kremlin officials also said that the criminal investigation into the uprising has been closed and they do not plan to charge Prigozhin or his followers with armed rebellion.
In a press conference on Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to disclose the details of the deal Moscow made with Prigozhin, only saying that President Putin gave “certain guarantees” to avoid a “worst-case scenario.”
