A Russian Duma member has publicly slammed Vladimir Putin after the Kremlin announced it will not formally charge Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin following his attempted “freedom march” on Moscow. Andrey Gurulyov, a Duma representative for the conservative United Russia party, called for the deaths of Prigozhin and his allies. He told viewers of a panel show on the state-run Russia-1 channel traitors must be “destroyed” in a furious diatribe captured by Russian media monitors.
According to a translated video posted on Twitter by Russian Media Monitor creator Julia Davis, Gurulyov advocated for violent retribution.
He said: “I am firmly convinced that during wartime, traitors have to be destroyed!
“Today, no matter who says what, whatever fairy tales they are telling, a bullet to the forehead is the sole salvation for Prigozhin and [Dmitry] Utkin.”
The incensed politician added that “treason can never be forgiven” before his brief segment on the show ended.
The Wagner chief’s actions over the last few years have sparked worldwide shock, given Prigozhin’s previously close relationship with Putin.
He was reportedly a touch over 100 miles outside Moscow at the weekend when he was persuaded to call off the “march to freedom”.
He pulled his soldiers back claiming Wagner “did not spill a single drop of blood of our fighters.”
But despite accusations he had committed “treason” against Russia, the Kremlin has announced he will move to Belarus without any punishment or sanctions for what he did.
On Saturday he announced that Belarusian premier Alexander Lukashenko had brokered a deal which would allow him to settle in the Russian-allied nation.
His troops also reportedly were given similar terms, according to Belarus.
A press release from Lukashenko’s office claimed a “completely constructive and acceptable option” to resolve the situation would also see “security guarantees for the Wagner PMC fighters”.
The Kremlin has made no further comment on the agreement, and neither have Prigozhin nor Wagner representatives.
Media outlets have now reported that Putin plans to assimilate any remaining Wagner members – thought to be roughly 8,000 in total – into Russia’s official armed forces.
