On Saturday, President Vladimir Putin vowed to safeguard Russia from an armed uprising announced by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Russian Wagner paramilitary group, whom Putin called a traitor to the country.
The Wagner Group—officially known as Private Military Company (PMC) Wagner—has been at the forefront of much of the combat in Ukraine, particularly in the eastern Donbas region.
In a televised speech to the nation, Putin urged those engaging in the revolt to quit their involvement in military warfare while promising to defend “the motherland.”
“All those who prepared the rebellion will suffer inevitable punishment. The armed forces and other government agencies have received the necessary orders,” Putin stated.
On Saturday morning local time, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Founder and head of the private military contractor Wagner, tweeted a video of himself in the strategic city of Rostov-on-Don at the Russian military headquarters that supervises the war in Ukraine. He claimed that a large militia crossed the border from Ukraine and is already seizing all military installations in Rostov-on-Don, a significant Russian city, including its airfield.
WATCH:
VISIT OUR YOUTUBE CHANNELYevgeny Prigozhin speaking once again from the Southern Military District Headquarters in the City of Rostov-on-Don, stating that Wagner has Occupied all of the Military Installations across the City including the Airfield to insure that the Russian Air Force is Attacking the… pic.twitter.com/S3krmZqEg6
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) June 24, 2023
The Russian Southern Military District, which oversees the war in Ukraine, is headquartered in Rostov-on-Don, roughly 60 miles from the Ukrainian border.
Russia has demanded Prigozhin’s arrest on suspicion of encouraging an armed coup.
🚨COUP UPDATES: Putin Reportedly Leaves Moscow | Machine Gun Positions Around Moscow | Wagner Convoy Heads to Moscow
As the coup continues, here's the latest updates from our various sources live on the ongoing Twitter Space:
– Worries of the Russian Nuclear Warheads moved to… pic.twitter.com/kOI0r1LLFF
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) June 24, 2023
Putin described the capture of Rostov-on-Don as a betrayal motivated by foreign forces’ goals, and compared it to an armed mutiny against Russia.
He denounced the insurgency at a time when Russia was “fighting the toughest battle for its future” in Ukraine. “The entire military, economic, and information machine of the West is waged against us,” Putin declared.
“We are fighting against anarchy and capitulation. This internal mutiny is a mortal blow to us. It is a blow to our people as a whole,” Putin stated.
“These people who are responsible will certainly be brought to justice on behalf of our people,” he added.
Putin stated that his armed forces have received orders and that measures have been taken to secure Moscow.
“As president of Russia, and commander in chief, as a citizen of Russia, I am doing everything to repel this attack and to ensure the freedom and security of our citizens,” Putin stated.
Prigozhin demanded a meeting with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Russia’s top general, Valery Gerasimov, at the military headquarters to address the Russia-Ukraine conflict in a video posted on Telegram early Saturday. If the two did not meet with him in Rostov-on-Don, he threatened Wagner forces would proceed to Moscow.
It comes as Russia initiated a criminal investigation into Prigozhin on allegations of encouraging an armed revolt after he pledged vengeance against the Russian military and its leadership for what he claimed was a Russian military attack on Wagner forces on Friday.
Prigozhin previously stated on Telegram that rockets, helicopter gunships, and artillery fire targeted Wagner’s field camps in Ukraine on Friday, killing around 2,000 Wagner soldiers.
Prigozhin claimed Gerasimov ordered the operation following a meeting with Shoigu during which they planned to eliminate Wagner. The Epoch Times is unable to independently confirm the accusations.
The Wagner Group is a private military firm with ties to the Kremlin. Wagner’s contracted men have fought alongside the Russian army in clashes against Ukrainian forces since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war in February 2022.
Prigozhin warned on Telegram that in reaction to the purported military strike on Friday, men from the Wagner mercenary group would punish Shoigu in an armed uprising. He advised Russian forces not to fight back. “This is not a military coup, but a march of justice,” he declared.
“Those who destroyed our lads, who destroyed the lives of many tens of thousands of Russian soldiers, will be punished.”
Russia’s military ministry issued a statement denying any involvement in the attack on Wagner on Friday. Prigozhin’s charges, according to the government, are “not true and are an informational provocation.”
The Federal Security Services (FSB), Russia’s domestic intelligence organization, has initiated a criminal investigation against Prigozhin on grounds of inciting armed revolt, according to state-owned Russian news agency TASS, citing the FSB’s National Anti-Terrorism Committee. Prigozhin risks up to 20 years in jail if convicted.
The FSB also urged Wagner’s forces not to obey Prigozhin’s “criminal and treacherous orders” and arrest him.
“Prigozhin’s statements and actions effectively constitute calls for an armed civil conflict on Russian territory and a stab in the back of Russian servicemen fighting with pro-Nazi Ukrainian forces,” the FSB said, according to TASS.
In recent months, Prigozhin, a former Putin friend, has openly accused Shoigu and Gerasimov of severe incompetence.
On Friday, Prigozhin leveled yet another serious charge, claiming that Russia’s basis for invading Ukraine in February 2022—which Putin has described as a “special military operation” was based on lies from the army’s leadership.
Prigozhin stated that his soldiers had crossed the border from Ukraine and were in Rostov-on-Don around 2 a.m. local time on Saturday.
He stated that they “will destroy anyone” who gets in their path, and that “we are moving forward and will go until the end.” Prigozhin also stated that his men had encountered no resistance at several checkpoints thus far.
According to TASS, which cited a law enforcement source, security was beefed up late Friday at Moscow’s important sites, and security measures in the capital were reinforced, with Russian National Guard special units on high alert.
According to the news agency, police and military checkpoints have been set up in Rostov-on-Don, near the headquarters of the Southern Military District.
Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesperson, said all Russian security agencies were reporting to Russian President Vladimir Putin “around the clock” about the situation in Prigozhin. Peskov went on to say that “necessary measures are being taken,” according to Russian news agency Interfax.
In a separate tweet, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense stated, “We are watching.”
