The conflict that has been smoldering for months between the Russian military leadership and the head of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, continues to escalate. According to his own statements, Prigozhin and his troops crossed the border from Ukraine to Russia. They had reached the southern Russian city of Rostov, the Wagner boss said in an audio recording published on Telegram.
His troops occupied important military objects in the city on the Don. “Military facilities in Rostov are under our control, including the airfield,” Prigozhin said in a video released Saturday morning. He claimed that in the city in the border region with Ukraine, his fighters also controlled the headquarters of the Russian army for the south of the country. This could not initially be checked independently. Military vehicles of the Wagner mercenary group can be seen in pictures in front of the Russian army headquarters in Rostov.
Prigozhin said they were ready to “go to the extreme” against the Russian military. “Anyone who tries to resist us will be considered a threat and will be killed immediately,” he threatened. He has 25,000 men under his command, who would now explain why such arbitrariness prevails in the country.
The governor of the Rostov region called on the population to remain calm and, if possible, not to leave their homes. The authorities took all necessary measures to ensure the safety of residents, Vasily Golubev said on his Telegram channel. Golubev does not say whether Prigozhin has already arrived in Rostov.
Ministry of Defense calls on Wagner mercenaries to give up
The Russian secret service FSB had previously launched criminal proceedings into an attempted armed uprising against Prigozhin. “Such a crime is punishable by imprisonment of between 12 and 20 years,” the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office said in a statement. The initiation of the procedure by the FSB was “legal and justified”.
Prigozhin denies the allegations of armed sedition made by the Russian authorities. “This is not an armed uprising, but a march for justice,” he said in a voice message distributed by his press service on Telegram on Friday. Wagner’s actions would not harm the activities of Russian forces in Ukraine, he added.
The escalation came about because Prigozhin, in a voice message distributed by his press service on Telegram, accused Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu of having had Wagner camps in the hinterland attacked with artillery, helicopters and rockets. The Russian Ministry of Defense denied an attack – and calls on the mercenaries to give up. They were drawn into a “criminal adventure”. “Please be reasonable and contact representatives of the Russian Defense Ministry or law enforcement agencies as soon as possible. We guarantee everyone’s safety.”
The National Anti-Terrorism Committee also called the allegations unfounded. “The allegations being made on behalf of Yevgeny Prigozhin are completely unfounded,” the agency’s statement said. The FSB called on the mercenaries “not to make irreparable mistakes, to stop all hostilities against the Russian people, to disobey the criminal and treacherous orders of Prigozhin and to take measures to arrest him.”
Moscow declares an anti-terror emergency
In the meantime, the authorities in Moscow and the surrounding area have declared an anti-terror emergency. “In order to prevent possible terrorist attacks in the city and region of Moscow, a regime of counter-terrorist operations has been introduced,” the national anti-terrorist committee said on Saturday. Security has been tightened in government buildings, transportation and other important places. Videos of armored vehicles in central Moscow are circulating on social media footage. Putin wants to address the people in a TV speech shortly.
According to the broadcaster CNN, the US government in Washington is keeping an eye on the events: “We are monitoring the situation and will consult with allies and partners about these developments,” said National Security Council spokesman Adam Hodge. President Joe Biden was briefed on the situation. In Ukraine, reports of the internal power struggle have been met with both satisfaction and derision. The Ukrainian army wrote on Twitter: “We are watching.”
For months, there has been a steadily escalating rivalry between Prigozhin and the Moscow military leadership. The Wagner boss is almost constantly present in the media with his messages, he accuses the Russian army leadership of military failure almost every day. About 50,000 fighters are said to be under his command. Prigozhin has repeatedly boasted about the capture of Ukrainian locations by his soldiers, including the capture of the city of Bakhmut. He was already complaining about sabotage by the regular troops.
Most recently, the General Staff in Moscow pushed through that the many private armies fighting on Moscow’s side in the war of aggression against Ukraine should be subordinate to the Ministry of Defense by contract. Prigozhin had resisted it. Only on Friday did the Wagner boss cause a stir with this statement: He described the Russian invasion of Ukraine as completely unjustified because Ukraine had no intention of attacking Russia with the help of NATO.