Mercenary chief vows retaliation after he says Russia killed 2,000 fighters, Kremlin alleges mutiny
Category: News & Politics
Via: perrie-halpern • last year • 40 commentsBy: Andrew Jones, Jamie Knodel and Phil McCausland
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Russian leaders accused the powerful head of the Wagner mercenary group of an attempted coup on Friday after he vowed to retaliate against the country's military command for allegedly killing thousands of his fighters.
Officials boosted security in Moscow and launched a criminal investigation into Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the paramilitary group that has seen some of the toughest fighting in Ukraine, "on charges of armed mutiny" after he vowed to stop the "evil" of the military leadership.
"Those who destroyed our lads, who destroyed the lives of many tens of thousands of Russian soldiers, will be punished. I ask that no one offer resistance," Prigozhin said in a series of audio messages on his official Telegram channel.
In the audio, Prigozhin said, without providing evidence, that Russia's military leadership was responsible for the deaths of 2,000 fighters. He pledged to hold them to account.
Within hours, Prigozhin said in another message that he and his fighters had turned their backs on Ukraine and crossed back into Russia. He warned that "if something stands in our way, we will destroy everything that will try to stop us."
Police officers patrol Bolshaya Dmitrovka Street in central Moscow on Friday.Valery Sharifulin / TASS via Zuma Press
"At this moment in time we have crossed in all places the state borders ... Right now we are entering Rostov," he said, referring to a city in the south of Russia.
Earlier Prigozhin warned that his troops would move to punish Russia's defense minister and urged the army not to offer resistance. He declared that "this is not an armed rebellion, but a march of justice."
A law enforcement officer said that "security measures" had been strengthened in Moscow, according to TASS, a Russian state-owned news agency.
"All the most important facilities, state authorities and transport infrastructure facilities have been taken under enhanced protection," TASS quoted the officer as saying.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the owner of the Wagner Group military company, at an unspecified location in Ukraine, released on March 3.Prigozhin Press Service via AP file
Russian state TV interrupted regular programming to announce that Prigozhin's claims were "fake and nothing more than provocation."
A brief newscast on Russia 1, a state-owned television channel, said the FSB, the country's main security agency, had opened a criminal case into Prigozhin. Russia's National Counterterrorist Committee demanded for the mercenary group leader to "stop these unlawful actions at once," it added.
The FSB released a statement accusing Prigozhin of "a 'stab in the back' of Russian servicemen" and calling for an armed civil conflict.
The service called on Wagner fighters "not to make irreparable mistakes, to stop any forceful actions against the Russian people, not to carry out the criminal and treacherous orders of Prigozhin, and to take measures to detain him."
President Vladimir Putin has been kept up to date on the situation and "necessary measures are being taken," said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, who later added that law enforcement agencies, the special services, the FSB, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Russian Guard have reported to Putin about Prigozhin's claims and alleged actions.
Meanwhile, an American official said the U.S. is closely monitoring the situation in Russia, and is concerned because there could be massive instability in a nuclear armed nation state.
President Joe Biden has been briefed on the situation, the White House National Security Council said.
"We are monitoring the situation and will be consulting with allies and partners on these developments," National Security Council spokesperson Adam Hodge said.
In the audio messages on Telegram, Prigozhin accused Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu of ordering a rocket strike on Wagner's field camps in Ukraine, where its soldiers are fighting on behalf of Russia against Ukrainian forces.
The claims have not been verified.
An unverified video posted on the "Razgruzka Wagner" (Wagner's Combat Vest) Telegram channel showed a scene in a forest where small fires were burning and trees appeared to have been broken by force.
It carried the caption: "A missile attack was launched on the camps of PMC Wagner. Many victims. According to eyewitnesses, the strike was delivered from the rear, that is, it was delivered by the military of the Russian Ministry of Defense."
Prigozhin vowed to avenge the incident: "There are 25,000 of us and we are going to figure out why chaos is happening in the country."
"This is not a military coup," he added.
Prigozhin, whose frequent tirades on social media belie his limited role in the war as head of Wagner, has for months been openly accusing the defense minister and Russia's top general, Valery Gerasimov, of rank incompetence.
But on Friday, for the first time he dismissed Russia's core justifications for invading Ukraine in February of last year in what the Kremlin calls a "special military operation."
"The war was needed ... so that [Defense Minister Sergei] Shoigu could become a marshal ... so that he could get a second 'Hero' [of Russia] medal," Prigozhin said in another audio message. "The war wasn't needed to demilitarize or denazify Ukraine."
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has not gone as anticipated. Russia has lost more than 100,000 fighters killed or wounded since December, the United States estimated earlier this year.
Defense officials have been trying to entice military-age men to join in large numbers and avoid the need for a new wave of conscription. Wagner fighters, many of them former prisoners recruited by Prigozhin, has borne some of the worst violence.
The U.S. and other Western nations have been supplying military aid to Ukraine, including Germany, which sent Leopard 2 tanks to the country.
Russia has denied the U.S. assessment of 100,000 casualties, which includes 20,000 killed.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed.
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The world hopes this ends with the removal of Putin from power (regardless of method).
In Russia what goes around comes around.
Poison tipped umbrella diplomacy anybody?
Putin's gonna need a trusted taster in case someone tries to slip him some polonium flavored chicken soup
What happens if Yevgeny Prigozhin replaces Sergei Shoigu as Defense Minister? Prigozhin isn't attacking Putin and is not trying to replace Putin. And Prigozhin doesn't seem to be backing someone else to replace Putin.
The Wagner Group fighters haven't been wall flowers. And the Wagner Group doesn't utilize the best soldiers. What happens if Prigozhin forces the rest of the Russian military to fight as hard as the Wagner Group has been fighting?
see @3.2.3
You really think the head of the Wagner Group is any better than Putin?
Careful of what you wish for. Each successive leader of Russia since we screwed over Gorbachev has been more nationalistic; and more of a Soviet hardliner.
The only good thing is that Prigozhin is just as bad of a military leader as all of the other Russian commanders. Of course he is also the most ruthless.
No I do not. I did not even hint that. I spoke strictly of Putin being removed. There are plenty of scenarios for his removal when a major challenge has been issued. It disrupts his perceived power and opens opportunities.
See @3.2.3
It's a tossup of who is more unhinged, whether it's Putin or Prigozhin.
Either one is a major problem.
But it looks as though the end result of this is that Putin's power has been weakened. Hopefully enough for those who can to push him aside (one way or another).
With both those people, the old saying that those who live by the sword often die by the sword comes to mind.
I read where he is now saying the whole war was based on lies.
Evening... nothing new there.. wonder how long it will be before tanks start appearing on the streets in Moscow...
Oops to late the tanks are already on the streets, just watching the news now...🤣🤣🇺🇦🇺🇦
Question: If Prigozhin releases footage of himself bashing Putin’s head into mush with a hammer, should we applaud or be outraged?
Evening..hell we will be celebrating here if Putin bites the dust...
Belarus will be the next basket country on the list...if it's good enough for the goose it's good enough for the gander..
We should be very cautious. Putin is a known quantity. Will this just amount to a swap of one tyrant for another? How will this effect the governmental structure of Russia? Many more questions that I am sure are being cogitated at places of power around the world.
Agreed. Prigozhin is so evil that he probably even gives Putin the willies, and Putin probably knows him better than anyone. But the enemy of my enemy is my friend, until he bashes my enemy’s brains in with a hammer and takes that role for himself.
And that known quantity is very bad. We have a good chance that the next leader will take advantage of the fact that he can blame all sorts of things on Putin and act to make the situation better. Putin has himself boxed in and cannot solve the Ukraine dilemma without admitting he screwed up.
If Prigozhin is able to take control of Russia then that would be worse than Putin.
I do not see that as the likely outcome. More likely is that Putin is taken out (one way or another) by the current leadership who will then seek to undo much of the damage Putin has inflicted on the nation.
I do not see that as the likely outcome.
It seems like he is in the perfect position to do so. Corrupt - check. Billionaire - check. Military backing - check. Global connections - check. Balls - check. Evil - double check. If he succeeds in taking out Putin it will be interesting to watch Trump swap allegiance.
I do not see Prigozhin wanting to take control of Russia (or wanting to replace Putin, for that matter). Prigozhin is attacking Sergei Shoigu and the defense ministry.
If anything, Prigozhin is giving Putin a (Soviet style) way out. Yevgeny Prigozhin is claiming that Sergei Shoigu has placed his personal interests above the interests of Russia. Prigozhin is claiming that Sergei Shoigu and the Defense Ministry has misled Putin so a shakeup would be warranted. Keep in mind that Prigozhin is not a soft line, anti-war activist so Prigozhin apparently wants Shoigu replaced with a hard liner.
Yevgeny Prigozhin is not threatening a revolt to end the war. Yevgeny Prigozhin is arguing that the Wagner Group is not receiving the support needed to fight the war, as the war should be fought. According to Prigozhin, Sergei Shoigu and the Defense Ministry is holding back the war effort and must be replaced.
A good scenario. Anyone other than Putin has an excuse for fixing the situation (i.e. withdrawing from Ukraine). No guarantee that they will, but removing Putin (one way or the other) is the first step in any positive resolution.
In short, destabilizing Putin's regime yields an opportunity to replace him.
So, you believe that removing Putin would allow Russia to accept being defeated by Ukraine? As long as Russians can blame Putin they will accept being under the thumb of NATO, western Europe, and the United States? That's an interesting theory but seems divorced from reality.
No, I stated that someone other than Putin can blame Putin for mistakes and correct them. I believe the majority of the Russian people do not want this war to continue and would support a diplomatic end (negotiate a peace).
In reality, people who see their nation in a long war which brings with it much death and economic suffering want the war to end.
I see that scenario coming out with Prigozhin or someone friendly to him in the top spot at the defense org. Remember con men are always several steps ahead of their marks. I think that what Nerm is suggesting is the whole thing is subterfuge. (This comment was written backwards on purpose...ha)
I would have applauded Hitler's assassination.
I would have been outraged by Stalin taking power after Lenin.
I knew a woman who met Hitler when she was five years old at the German orphanage where she lived during the war. He had even held her in his lap for a picture. There had been an entourage of men with holstered gun close by and she was forever tortured that she had not managed to grab a gun and killed him when she could have...
Wagner Group has taken over the Russian city of Rostov on Don, a city of a million people.
Reports that Wagner has moved 25,000 Troops from Ukraine back into Russia.
Putin's pissed!
If Putin is taken down is the next in line any better?
You would think that whoever ends up on top in Russia will get the message that continuing this war is fruitless, and that the Russian people will have had enough of this senseless slaughter.
You would think, and hope that but it presumes a rational person would take over, or at least someone that gives a shit about the people.
Don't hold your breath.
Some of Putin's generals and intelligence heads probably think he is weak for not using chemical/biological/nuclear weapons and defying NATO and especially the US to do anything about it.
The next Russian leader my offer a deal of Russia keeping all the land it it has taken in Ukraine- in return for not turning the planet into a nuclear wasteland.
I suspect there are Gorbachev-like thinkers in Russia. After all, Gorbachev emerged from within the former USSR.
I truly hope that your suspicions are well founded.
The assumption being made is that if Putin falls that there will be a new dictator, for better or worse. There is another scenario and that is Russia falling apart as a country. Many of the regions that are minority peoples in Russia are chaffing because it is their people that are dying in the war, not the Moscow Russians. The Central Asian countries have not been supportive of Russia in the current war with Ukraine so it's also possible that these countries and those currently under Moscow control will rebel. It is important to note that most all of them are rich in minerals and oil.
Younger Russians had become accustomed to being a part of the larger world. They traveled and did business and enjoyed freedoms their parents and grandparents could not even imagine. Putin has upended all of that...
Looks Like Putie is on the run!
Putin Flees Moscow As Potential Coup Gets Underway (townhall.com)
In general, it looks like the Putin regime might be destabilizing. That has to occur for anything good to result. While no guarantee of good, it at least opens the opportunity.
Wagner in control of a massive cache of nukes isn’t a great situation
Civil war? I want Putin gone, but these Wagner guys might be worse.