The leader of the paramilitary group Wagner Yevgeny Prigojine claimed to be on Saturday morning in the Russian army headquarters in the city of Rostov, a key center for the Russian assault on Ukraine, and to have taken control of military sites, including an airfield. Vladimir Putin for his part denounced the “treason” and “a stab in the back” of Russia.
The leader of the paramilitary group Wagner claimed to be on Saturday morning at the Russian army headquarters in the city of Rostov, a key center for the Russian assault on Ukraine, and to have taken control of military sites, including an airfield . “We are at HQ, it is 07:30 am” (04:30 GMT), Yevgeny Prigojine said in a video broadcast on Telegram, “the military sites in Rostov are under control, including the airfield”, he adds , while behind him walk men in uniform. Previously, he had claimed to be “ready to die” with his 25,000 men to “liberate the Russian people”.
Information to remember:
- Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigojine said on Saturday that he entered Russia with his troops with the aim of overthrowing the military command.
- Vladimir Putin addressed the Russian people and denounced “a stab in the back” from Russia.
- He claimed to be in the headquarters of the Russian army in the city of Rostov and said he was “ready to die” with his 25,000 men.
- The Russian Ministry of Defense has promised to “guarantee the safety” of the fighters of the Wagner group if they disassociate themselves from the “criminal adventure” of their boss.
- The Russian public prosecutor’s office has announced the opening of an investigation for “armed mutiny” against Yevgeny Prigojine.
Putin stands against ‘deadly threat’ posed by Wagner leader’s rebellion
“It’s a stab in the back of our country and our people,” Vladimir Putin said in an address to the nation. “What we are facing is nothing but betrayal. A betrayal caused by the excessive ambitions and personal interests” of Yevgeny Prigojine, he said. Earlier, the head of Wagner had claimed to hold the headquarters of the Russian army in Rostov, the nerve center of operations in Ukraine, and to control several military sites.
“We are at HQ, it is 7:30 am” (04:30 GMT), Yevgueni Prigojine said in a video on Telegram. “The military sites in Rostov are under control, including the airfield”. Following his statements, Vladimir Putin was forced to admit that the situation in Rostov is indeed “difficult”.
In reaction to this rebellion, the Russian public prosecutor’s office announced the opening of an investigation for “armed mutiny” against the group which entered into rebellion with its claimed 25,000 men, after accusing the regular army of having bombarded his troops. The authorities have reinforced security measures in Moscow where the “anti-terrorist operation regime” has just been established, a direct consequence of the threat from Prigogine who launched in an audio message on Telegram: “We continue, we will go until at the end” and “we will destroy everything that gets in our way”.
On the Ukrainian side, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky judged that “this is only the beginning in Russia”. “The division between the elites is too obvious. Agreeing and pretending that everything is settled will not work,” added Mykhaïlo Podoliak on Twitter.
Emmanuel Macron “is following the situation closely”, and remains focused on helping Ukraine
French President Emmanuel Macron is closely following the situation in Russia, where Wagner militia leader Yevgeny Prigojine has gone into rebellion against Russian regular troops and controls several military sites, the Elysee Palace said on Saturday. “The President is following the situation closely. We remain focused on supporting Ukraine,” said the French presidency.
An investigation for “armed mutiny” against Evguéni Prigojine
The Russian public prosecutor’s office has announced the opening of an investigation for “armed mutiny” against Yevgeny Prigojine, who went into rebellion after accusing the Russian regular army of having bombed his men. Authorities have tightened security measures in Moscow and several other regions of Russia. “We continue, we will go to the end,” Evguéni Prigojine launched in an audio message on Telegram. “We will destroy everything that gets in our way.”
“We are all ready to die, all 25,000. And after that there will be another 25,000. he hammered afterwards. He announced that his forces, hitherto deployed in Ukraine, had crossed the Russian border and entered the city of Rostov (south). He also assured that his troops had shot down a Russian helicopter which had “opened fire on a civilian column”.
“Anti-terrorist activities” underway in Moscow
“Anti-terrorist activities are underway in Moscow with the aim of strengthening security measures”, announced the mayor of the capital, Sergei Sobyanin. Images on social media and online media, the authenticity of which AFP could not confirm, showed military vehicles circulating in the city, near the Ministry of Defense, and in position in front of the chamber lower part of Parliament, the Duma, a few dozen meters from the Kremlin.
The governor of the Rostov region called on the population to “stay at home”, and that of Lipetsk, 420 km south of Moscow, also announced “reinforced security measures”.
FSB calls on Wagner fighters to arrest their leader
Russian Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov briefed the President Vladimir Putin “of the opening of a criminal investigation in connection with the attempt to organize an armed mutiny”, declared the spokesman of the Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov.
In multiple audio messages throughout the day, the Wagner boss previously claimed that Russian strikes had caused a “very large number of casualties” in his ranks. “They carried out strikes, missile strikes, on our rear camps. Huge numbers of our fighters were killed,” he said, accusing Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu of ordering these attacks. These accusations “do not correspond to reality and are a provocation”, retorted the Ministry of Defense in a press release.
The FSB (security forces) called on Wagner’s fighters to arrest their leader. This open war exposes the tensions within the Russian forces engaged in the Ukrainian conflict. “Those who have military responsibility for the country must be stopped,” also said the boss of Wagner, calling on the Russians not to oppose resistance to his troops, or even to join them.
Contrary to Moscow’s claims, the Russian army is retreating in certain Ukrainian areas
Rival Russian factions have begun to “devour each other for power and money”, said Ukrainian military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov. In Washington, the White House said it was monitoring the situation closely.
Russian opponent in exile and businessman Mikhail Khodorkovsky has called for support for Yevgeny Prigojine to fight Vladimir Putin’s regime. “Yes, even the devil would have to help him if he decided to go against this regime! (…) If this bandit wants to disturb the other, now is not the time to grimace we must help”, he wrote on Telegram.
On Friday, Yevgeny Prigojine affirmed that, contrary to Moscow’s assertions, the Russian army was retreating in the areas of Zaporijjia and Kherson (south) as well as in Bakhmout, a city in the East that the Russians claim to have captured but where the Ukrainians say they have progressed on the flanks in recent weeks. “There are no military successes” from Moscow, Yevgeni Prigojine again scathingly asserted that the Russian military “wash themselves with their blood”, a way of saying that they suffer heavy losses.
“The war was necessary for a group of bastards to be promoted”
Unverifiable from an independent source, the words of Wagner’s boss in any case contradict those of Vladimir Putin and Sergei Shoigu, according to whom the Russian army “repels” all Ukrainian attacks. The Russian Defense Ministry, however, warned that Ukraine is preparing to attack from Bakhmout’s side by “taking advantage of Prigozhin’s provocation”.
In recent days, Vladimir Putin has repeated that the Ukrainian counter-offensive was a failure and that the forces of kyiv had suffered almost “catastrophic” losses. Yevgeny Prigojine described these victorious declarations as “deep deception”.
While many opponents and anonymous Russians are in prison for criticizing the conflict in Ukraine, the leader of Wagner has openly questioned the reasons for which the military intervention was launched. “The war was necessary for a group of bastards to be promoted”, he castigated, also accusing “the Russian oligarchs” who “needed the war”, while Kiev was according to him “ready to not any agreement”.