Putin in trouble as rebel mercenary fighters vow to topple Russian military leadership
Within hours of the chief of the mercenary group Wagner vowing to oust Russia’s military leadership, videos circulating on social media reportedly showed its forces skirting Rostov-on-Don, home to the Russian military headquarters for the southern region and also oversees the fighting in Ukraine.
There were also reports of clashes between members of the mercenary group and the Russian troops in the Pavlovsk district of the Voronezh Region. However, the veracity of the videos and reports could not be verified. Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s call for an armed rebellion meant to oust Russia’s defence minister Sergei Shoigu is seen as his most direct challenge to President Vladimir Putin. Meanwhile, security has been stepped up in Moscow, indicating the serious nature of the threat.
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No resistance
Prigozhin on Saturday claimed that his forces had crossed into Russia from Ukraine and had reached Rostov, saying they faced no resistance from young conscripts at checkpoints and that his forces “aren’t fighting against children”. “But we will destroy anyone who stands in our way,” he said in one of a series of angry video and audio recordings posted on social media beginning late Friday. “We are moving forward and will go until the end.”
In a new audio message, Prigozhin said that his 25,000-strong force was “ready to die” as he vowed to topple Russia’s military leadership. “All of us are ready to die. All 25,000, and then another 25,000,” Prigozhin said in a new audio message. “We are dying for the Russian people.”
Interestingly, anti-Kremlin figure Mikhail Khodorkovsky has urged Russians to support Wagner. “We need to help now, and then, if necessary, we will fight this one, too,” Khodorkovsky, a former oil tycoon, wrote on social media. He said it was important to back “even the devil” if he decided to take on the Kremlin. “And yes, this is just the beginning.”
Criminal probe
Meanwhile, authorities in Russia launched a criminal probe on Friday against the owner of the Wagner Group military contractor over his alleged threats to oust Russia’s defence minister.
The announcement follows a statement from owner Yevgeny Prigozhin accusing Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu of ordering a rocket strike on Wagner’s field camps in the Ukraine where its soldier are fighting on behalf of Russia against Ukranian forces. Prigozhin said that his troops would now move to punish Shoigu and urged the army not to offer resistance. Prigozhin declared that this is not an armed rebellion, but a “march of justice”.
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The Russian Defence Ministry rejected Prigozhin’s claim and the National Anti-Terrorism Committee, the country’s top counter-terrorism structure, said it opened a criminal inquiry on charges of making calls for a military coup. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian President Vladimir Putin has been informed about the situation, adding that all the necessary measures were being taken.
The trigger
The Wagner forces have played a crucial role in Russia’s war in Ukraine, succeeding in taking Bakhmut where the bloodiest and longest battles have taken place. Prigozhin, who has increasingly flayed Russia’s military leadership, on Friday claimed that the chief of the General Staff, Gen Valery Gerasimov, scrambled warplanes to strike his convoys, which were driving alongside vehicles with civilians inside them.
Prigozhin also claimed that his mercenaries shot down a Russian military helicopter that fired on a civilian convoy.
(With agency inputs)
