Moscow – Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that those who take the “path of treachery” or armed rebellion will be “punished” after the head of the Wagner paramilitary group said his forces had taken control of military facilities in two Russian cities, plunging the country into crisis. CNN reported.
“It is a stab in the back for our country and our people,” Putin said in an address to the nation, vowing harsh response and punishment to those planning an “armed rebellion”.
Putin was speaking after militia chief and close ally Yevgeny Prigozhin dramatically escalated his feud with Moscow’s security establishment over their handling of the invasion of Ukraine — in a dizzying chain of events that threatens to spiral into civil war.
Prigozhin, who heads Wagner’s private military group, vowed to surround the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and move to Moscow if Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Russia’s top general Valery Gerasimov did not meet him in the city, according to him. From the comments in a video posted by a pro-Wagner Telegram channel.
In its daily intelligence update, the British Ministry of Defense said that the military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don “runs Russian military operations in Ukraine” and that Prigozhin’s rebellion “presents the greatest challenge to the Russian state in recent times.”
The briefing said that some Russian forces “most likely remained passive and acquiesced in Wagner”.
She added that “in the coming hours, the loyalty of the Russian security forces, and especially the Russian National Guard, will be the key to how the crisis unfolds.”
The Wagner Group also claimed to have taken control of Russian military installations in a second city, Voronezh, about 600 kilometers (372 miles) north of Rostov-on-Don.
In his statements, Putin described the events in Rostov as a rebellion.
“The situation in Rostov-on-Don remained difficult during the armed uprising. In Rostov, the work of the civil and military administration was basically disrupted,” Putin said, adding that “decisive action” would be taken.
Prigozhin’s actions come after he accused Russian forces of bombing the Wagner military camp and killing a “huge amount” of his fighters – a claim denied by the Russian Defense Ministry and described as a “media provocation”.
The militia commander, whose forces played a key role in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, warned of retaliation in a series of Telegram messages on Friday and Saturday, announcing that his forces were moving into the Rostov region bordering Russian-occupied Ukraine, ready to “destroy everything” in their path.
“There are 25,000 of us and we will find out why there is such a mess in the country. There are 25,000 of us waiting as a tactical reserve and a strategic reserve. It’s the whole army and the whole country. Whoever wants, join us. We must end this disaster,” he said, in a radical escalation of a long-running feud. with Russian military leaders.
Russia’s domestic intelligence service, the Federal Security Service (FSB), responded on Friday, urging the Wagner fighters to arrest their leader and open a criminal case against the militia leader accusing him of “advocating armed rebellion”. Meanwhile, the authorities in the capital, Moscow, have tightened security measures.
A Russian intelligence official, Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseev, released a video of Prigozhin’s actions that day, calling it an attempted coup.
“Only the president has the right to appoint the supreme command of the armed forces, and you are trying to encroach on his power. This is a coup. There is no need to do this now, because there is no greater harm to the image of Russia and its armed forces.
Prigozhin denied that his actions were a coup d’état, saying they were instead a “march of justice” that “would not interfere with the troops in any way”.
Russia is on alert
Russian security forces cordoned off the headquarters of the Wagner company in St. Petersburg on Saturday.
The Russian National Anti-Terrorism Committee also announced the introduction of a system of anti-terrorist operations in Moscow, the Moscow region and the Voronezh region.
The anti-terrorism regime includes, but is not limited to, checking documents, strengthening public order protection, monitoring phone calls, restricting communications, and restricting the movement of vehicles and pedestrians on the streets.
Prigozhin assured that his forces would receive wide support from Russian soldiers, claiming that they had a hero’s welcome when they entered the Rostov region and that by Saturday morning, 60-70 fighters had already joined.
“The border guards went out to meet and hugged our fighters,” he said.
The military activity became evident in Rostov-on-Don on Saturday morning, when photos of military vehicles driving through the streets of Rostov-on-Don and helicopters began appearing on social media on Saturday morning, although it was not clear which side was in control.
Earlier Saturday, Rostov region governor Vasily Golubev told residents to stay calm and not leave their homes in a Telegram post. Rostov region is about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from Moscow. Its capital, Rostov-on-Don, has a population of about one million.
In the first sign of open armed conflict between the two sides on Saturday morning, Prigozhin said on Saturday that a helicopter had bombed his units on a highway. It is unclear exactly where the units were.
“The Wagner units are intact and the helicopter is destroyed and burning in the forest,” Prigozhin said. “We will consider this a threat and destroy everything around us.”
Prigozhin also claimed that a second helicopter was shot down after it attacked civilians. CNN has not been able to verify any of Prigozhin’s claims.
Prigozhin also said that Wagner’s alleged seizure of military facilities in Rostov would not impede military operations, saying that his men did not prevent officers from carrying out their duties.
In Moscow, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Saturday on Telegram that “anti-terror” measures to beef up security are being implemented in the capital as a result of “information received”.
“More control has been imposed on the roads. It is possible to impose restrictions on the holding of public events,” he added.
Social media posts showed military vehicles were seen driving down the main streets of the Russian capital in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Invading Ukraine under “false pretenses”
Wagner played a prominent role in the Ukraine war, and Prigozhin has, so far, faced few consequences for his public spat with the Russian military leadership – accusing Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Armed Forces Commander Valery Gerasimov of not giving his troops over. Ammo.
Prigozhin and Wagner played an unusual, unofficial role in Putin’s Russia. He has known the president since the 90’s. Both are from St. Petersburg. Prigozhin won valuable contracts as a Kremlin caterer and later created the Russian troll farm known as the Internet Research Agency, whose mission was to interfere in the 2016 US elections.
Earlier on Friday, Prigozhin added to his ongoing feud with military leaders in a highly critical video interview in which he said Moscow invaded Ukraine under false pretenses devised by the Russian Defense Ministry, and Russia was losing ground on the battlefield.
Prigozhin had previously defended the causes of the war, but criticized the way it was handled by the Minister of Defence, Shoigu – with whom he is fighting directly over military contracts.
On Saturday, Russia’s Defense Ministry appealed to Wagner’s forces to “return safely to their permanent deployment points.”
“You have been deceived into Prigozhin’s criminal adventure and his participation in an armed insurrection,” the Russian Defense Ministry said on its official Telegram channel.
The fallout from his comments also inspired a wave of schadenfreude in Ukraine.
Mykhailo Podolak, an adviser to Ukraine’s presidential office, on Saturday described the measures as revealing a deeper division within the Russian establishment.
“The division among the elites is very clear. Agreeing and pretending that everything is settled will not work,” Mihilo Podolac wrote on Twitter. “Someone must certainly lose: either Prigozhin (with a fatal end), or the collective” anti-Prygozhin “.
“It all just started in Russia,” he added.
(CNN Wire & 2023 Cable News Network, Inc. , a Time Warner company. All rights reserved.)
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