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Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen Pat Ryder on Thursday addressed rumors of a Russian navy purge after Wagner mercenary forces, led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, engaged in a short-lived mutiny over the weekend.
Ryder mentioned the Department of Defense was intently following the safety state of affairs inside Russia and has not seen something that ought to increase alarm.
![Pentagon Ryder](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2023/06/640/320/DOD.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder walks as much as the rostrum in the beginning of a press briefing within the Pentagon Briefing Room on Thursday, June 22, 2023 in Washington. (AP Photograph/Kevin Wolf)
“Our focus is on guaranteeing that we don’t see something that might portend strategic instability. In different phrases, nothing to point any issues concerning Russian nuclear forces,” Ryder mentioned. “We have now not seen something to this stage that issues us, and definitely nothing that has required to vary our personal pressure posture.”
Ryder wouldn’t remark particularly on stories {that a} purge within the ranks of the Russian navy was underway as authorities regarded into allegations that some may have sided with Prigozhin.
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Gen. Sergei Surovikin, the deputy commander of the Russian group forces combating in Ukraine, is believed to have been detained earlier this week. It’s not clear whether or not Surovikin faces any prices or the place he’s being held, reflecting the opaque world of the Kremlin’s politics and uncertainty after the revolt.
Hypothesis has additionally swirled that some prime navy officers might have colluded with Prigozhin and will now face punishment for the mutiny.
![A split image shows Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, and Russian President Vladimir Putin](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2023/06/640/320/alexander-lukashenko-yevgeny-prigozhin-vladimir-putin-split-circle-insert.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Left: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko; Middle: Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin; Proper: Russian President Vladimir Putin (NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA/AFP through Getty Photographs/Stringer/Anadolu Company through Getty Photographs/Contributor/Getty Photographs)
To the shock of many, the mutiny ended abruptly after Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko brokered a deal between Prigozhin and Russian President Vladimir Putin for the mercenary chief to maneuver to Belarus.
Ryder wouldn’t touch upon whether or not the Pentagon has seen proof that Wagner is seeking to make Belarus its new base of operations.
“Proper now, we proceed to see some components of the Wagner group in Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine. Because it pertains to Belarus, I don’t have any updates to offer on that entrance.”
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Ryder wouldn’t touch upon the estimated variety of Wagner troops nonetheless in Ukraine, however disclosed {that a} focus stays lively close to Bakhmut – which has seen among the longest and bloodiest combating of the warfare and the place Wagner forces have died by the 1000’s.
The Related Press contributed to this report.
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