Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin stated on Saturday that his Wagner fighters had crossed the Russian-Ukrainian border and were prepared to go the distance against Moscow’s military, just hours after the Kremlin accused him of an armed mutiny.
TASS reported that Russia’s FSB security service opened a criminal case against Prigozhin as a protracted standoff between him and the military’s top brass appeared to be reaching a head. It requested that the Wagner private military company disobey his orders and capture him.
Wagner fighters have entered the southern Russian city of Rostov, as Prigozhin stated in a Telegram audio recording. He declared that he and his men would eliminate anyone who stood in their path.
Prigozhin had previously asserted, without evidence, that Russia’s military leadership had killed a large number of his troops in an airstrike and vowed retribution.
His actions were not a military coup, he said. In a series of frantic audio messages, however, in which the sound of his voice fluctuated and could not be independently verified, he appeared to indicate that his 25,000-strong militia was on its way to Moscow to overthrow the leadership of the defense ministry.
Friday night, security was increased at government buildings, transportation hubs, and other strategic locations in Moscow, according to TASS, which cited a security service source.
TASS reported that Vladimir Putin was receiving round-the-clock updates, while the White House stated that it was tracking the circumstances and would discuss them with allies.
The deputy commander of Russia’s Ukraine campaign, General Sergei Surovikin, ordered the Wagner fighters to obey Putin, consent to Moscow’s commanders, and return to their bases. He stated that deteriorating political conditions would benefit Russia’s adversaries.
Vladimir Alekseyev, lieutenant general of the Russian Army, issued a video appeal urging Prigozhin to rethink his actions. “Only the president can select the top leadership of the armed forces, and you are attempting to usurp his authority,” he stated.
Prigozhin has publicly criticized the incompetence of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Russia’s top general, Valery Gerasimov, for several months.
