The head of the Wagner Group, which has declared armed insurrection against the Russian Defense Ministry, said its troops had seized military installations in a city in southern Russia. Yevgeny Prigozhin confirmed this Saturday (06/24) that he and his troops have reached a key Russian city after crossing the Ukrainian border.
He posted a video of himself in Rostov-on-Don, the capital of the Rostov region, at the Russian headquarters which oversees fighting in Ukraine and claimed his forces had military installations in the city under their control, including the airport.
Other videos posted on social media showed military vehicles, including tanks, on the streets.
The Russian security services responded to Prigozhin’s declaration of armed rebellion, demanding his arrest. As a demonstration of how seriously the Kremlin has taken the threat, security has been tightened in Moscow and Rostov-on-Don. It was not immediately clear how he managed to enter the southern Russian city and how many troops he had.
with him.
“We are at the General Staff, at 7:30 Moscow time, checking military installations in Rostov, including the airport,” he said in a video posted to his Telegram account.
He noted that “planes normally leave for combat missions. Medical aviation also leaves. There is no problem. The only thing we do is prevent attack aviation from bombing us and make sure it bombs the Ukrainians.”
“The main command post is functioning normally, there are no problems, not a single officer has been separated (from his duties). So if they tell you that Wagner interfered with the work and that’s why something collapsed at the front, know That wasn’t why,” he said.
“When we got here, we confirmed a lot of things. A large amount of lost territory, dead soldiers, three to four times more than what is reported in the documents (for the Russian presidency), and what is reported is ten times less what is reported is reported in the documents, it is said on television,” he said.
According to Prigozhin, the victims on some days reach 1,000, including “dead, missing, wounded and so-called ‘deserters’ who refuse to fight not because they are intimidated, but because they have no other way out: they have no ammunition, have no command”.
“The chief of staff fled here as soon as he learned we were approaching the building,” he added.
Earlier, another Wagner-affiliated Telegram channel posted a video of a meeting between Prigozhin in Rostov-on-Don with Deputy Defense Minister Yunus-Bek Evkurov and Deputy Chief of Staff Vladimir Alexeyev.
“The mercenaries will advance towards Moscow”
Prigozhin stated that until Wagner “has Russian Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov and Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu in his power, his mercenaries will blockade the city of Rostov” and “advance towards Moscow”.
While the outcome of the match is still an open question, it seems likely that it will
it will likely further damage Moscow’s war effort, as Kiev forces are testing Russian defenses in the early stages of a counter-offensive.
The dispute could also have repercussions for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his ability to maintain a united front.
The forces of the Wagner Group played a crucial role in Russia’s war in Ukraine, successfully capturing Bakhmut, the city which was the epicenter of some of the bloodiest and longest-running battles since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
But Prigozhin has repeatedly criticized the Russian military leadership, accusing it of incompetence and depriving its troops of weapons and ammunition.
Accusation of Russian attack
On Friday, Prigozhin returned to severely criticize the Russian military leadership and accused the Russian army of carrying out attacks against its mercenary camps, causing “a very large number of casualties”. The allegations were rejected by the Russian Defense Ministry.
“They carried out attacks, rocket attacks, in the rear of our fields. A very large number of our fighters were killed,” Yevgeny Prigozhin said in an audio message broadcast by his press service.
Prigozhin also assured that he will take revenge for these attacks which, according to the leader of the Wagner group, were ordered by the Russian defense minister.
Yevgeny Prigozhin’s message was accompanied by a video lasting about a minute, showing a destroyed forest, some fires and at least one soldier’s body.
The head of the Wagner group also said the “evil” of Russia’s military leadership “must be stopped” and said he had thousands of soldiers ready to fight.
“The council of commanders of the Wagner group has made a decision: the damage done by the military leadership of the country must be stopped. They neglect the lives of soldiers. They have forgotten the word ‘justice’ and we will bring it back. Those who destroyed ours soldiers today men, who have destroyed tens, tens of thousands of lives of Russian soldiers, will be punished. Anyone who tries to resist, we will consider him a threat and we will immediately destroy him, including any checkpoints in our path. After we finish what we started, we will return to the front line to protect our homeland. We will deal with those who destroy Russian soldiers. And we will return to the front line. Justice in the army will be restored. And after that, justice for all of Russia, “said the chief of the Wagner group.
The allegations were rejected by the Russian Defense Ministry. “The messages and videos posted on social media by Prigozhin about alleged ‘attacks by the Russian Defense Ministry on the backward bases of the Wagner paramilitary group’ do not correspond to reality and are a provocation,” the ministry said in a statement.
Prigozhin later explained that he did not intend to organize a coup, but to organize a “march for justice”.
“There is no command, there are no military successes”
Also on Friday, Prigozhin said that the Russian army was withdrawing into the Kherson and Zaporizhzhya regions of Ukraine and accused the Russian defense ministry of misleading Putin about the real situation at the front. “The Ukrainian Armed Forces are crushing the Russian army. While we are bathing in blood, nobody sends reserves, there is no command,” Prigozhin said in a video posted to Telegram. “There is no command, there are no military successes, the leadership of the defense ministry completely deceives the president,” he added.
In the same video, boss Wagner openly attacked the Russian Defense Ministry and especially Minister Sergei Shoigu, whom he described as “a shivering grandfather” who should be tried for the deaths of “tens of thousands of young people”. “It’s a poorly planned operation,” he said.
According to Prigozhin, the operation would have been successful if very serious planning errors had not been made “or naked and barefoot soldiers had not been sent” to the front.
Regarding the current situation, he commented that the Defense Ministry’s “sovereign lies” continue, and that the truth will come out “when these scum realize they’ve lost a colossal chunk of territory and say they’ve reorganized into more favorable positions “.
md (EFE, AP)
Source: Terra
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
