Prigozhin turned back his rebellion because his men got 'cold feet' and that it 'wasn't what they had signed up for,' CIA chief Bill Burns says

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the owner of the Wagner Group military company, records his video addresses in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, Saturday, June 24, 2023.

Prigozhin Press Service via Associated Press

• Yevgeny Prigozhin's short-lived mutiny last month may have lacked the support of his men.
• CIA director Williams Burns told Puck that some Wagner troops may have felt the revolt wasn't what they signed up for.
• Prigozhin was "making it up as he went along," Burns told Puck.

Wagner group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin may have turned back his armed rebellion last month because his men didn't support the effort, according to CIA director Williams Burns.

Puck's Julia Ioffe asked Burns about Prigozhin's short-lived mutiny at the Aspen Security conference last week, including why the mercenary group leader "choked and turned back."

"Some of his men started getting cold feet," Burns said. "This wasn't what they had signed up for."

Prigozhin, formerly a close ally of Putin, went on a tirade against Russian military leadership on June 23 and marched his Wagner troops towards Moscow, shooting down some Russian military aircrafts, before abruptly turning around — leaving many wondering what the point of it all was.

While speaking on a panel at the conference last week, Burns said Prigozhin was "making it up as he went along."

Burns also noted Prigozhin had only 5,000 men with him — not nearly enough to actually take Moscow.

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