Watch the video: Destination Moscow? Wagner mercenaries appear to be marching north
STORY: According to his own statements, the mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is staying with his fighters in Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia. He wants to negotiate with Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of Staff Valeri Gerasimov – on the spot, about 500 kilometers south of Moscow. Prigozhin said he and his mercenaries controlled all the city’s military installations and would march on Moscow if his demands were not met. He stated that his actions did not constitute a military coup. Prior to this, Prigozhin had described the official justification for the war as a lie, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had accused Wagner of a military attack to destroy his mercenary group and announced retaliation. The British secret service reported that other fighters from the Wagner mercenary group were moving north in the Voronezh district, probably with their destination in Moscow, according to the Ministry of Defense. This is the greatest threat to the Russian state in recent times. Now it depends on the reaction of the security forces, especially the National Guard. Finally, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry called on the population to support President Vladimir Putin and to stand behind him. In a television speech, he spoke of treason and a “stab in the back”. Anyone who took part in the mutiny would be punished, and anyone who took up arms against the army was a traitor. But the situation in Rostov-on-Don is difficult. The information provided by all sides could not initially be checked independently.