Wagner announced an armed revolt by leader Yevgeny Prigozhin

The head of the paramilitary group, Wagner Evguéni Prigojine, said he entered on Saturday, June 24. Russia With his forces intent on overthrowing the military command, he said he was “ready to die” with his 25,000 men to “liberate the Russian people”.

Russia’s public prosecutor’s office announced it was opening an investigation into “armed mutiny” against Yevgeny Prigozhin, who accused the Russian regular army of shelling his men for rebelling, and authorities have stepped up security measures. Moscow And in many regions of Russia.

“We continue, we will go to the end,” Evguéni Prigojine began in an audio message on Telegram. “We will destroy everything that comes in our way,” he threatened. “We are all ready to die, 25,000 people. After that there will be 25,000 more. We die for the motherland, we die for the Russian people who must be freed from those who bomb civilians”, he hammered.

He declared that his forces were, so far, stationed Ukraine, crossed the Russian border and entered the (southern) city of Rostov. He also promised that his troops had shot down a Russian helicopter that had “fired on a column of civilians”. He provided no evidence for these claims, the veracity of which AFP could not confirm.

“Anti-terror operations are underway in Moscow with the aim of strengthening security measures,” the capital’s mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, announced. Images on social media and online media, the authenticity of which AFP could not confirm, showed military vehicles circling the city, near the Defense Ministry, and a few dozen in front of the chamber of the Duma, the lower chamber of parliament. meters from the Kremlin.

The governor of Rostov region called on people to “stay at home” and Lipetsk, 420km south of Moscow, announced “reinforced security measures”.

Trial for sedition

Russian Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov briefed the President Vladimir Putin “The opening of a criminal investigation into an attempt to organize an armed uprising,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced.

In several audio messages throughout the day, the Wagner boss said the Russian strikes had caused a “very large number of casualties” among his ranks. “They launched attacks, missile attacks on our rear camps. Many of our fighters were killed,” he said, accusing Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu of ordering the attacks. The defense ministry responded in a press release that the allegations were “inconsistent with reality and a provocation”.

An influential Russian general, Sergei Churovikhin, called on Wagner’s fighters to return to their armies. “I ask (you) to stop (…) before it’s too late, we must obey the will and orders of the elected president of Russia,” he said in a video on Telegram. The FSB (security forces) called on Wagner’s militia to arrest their leader.

This apparent war exposes tensions within Russian forces involved in the Ukrainian conflict. “Those who have military responsibility for the country must be stopped,” Wagner’s boss said, calling on Russians not to resist or join his troops.

“Power and Money”

Rival Russian factions “have begun to devour each other for power and money,” said Kyrillo Budanov, head of Ukrainian military intelligence. In Washington, the White House said it was monitoring the situation closely.

Exiled Russian dissident and businessman Mikhail Khodorkovsky has called for support for Yevgeny Prigozhin to fight Vladimir Putin’s regime. “Yes, if he decides against this regime, even the devil must help him! (…) If this bandit wants to trouble the other, now is not the time for us to frown,” he wrote in a telegram. .

On Friday, Yevgeny Prigozhin said the Russian army was retreating in the Zaporizhia and Kherson (south) regions, as well as in the eastern city of Pakmud, which the Russians say they have captured, but which the Ukrainians say they have advanced. The margins of these past weeks.

“There are no military victories” from Moscow, Yevgeny Prigozhin reiterated, insisting that Russian soldiers are “washing themselves with their own blood”, insisting that they will suffer heavy losses. Unverifiable from an independent source, Wagner’s boss’s words contradict those of Vladimir Putin and Sergei Shoigu, according to which the Russian military “resists” all Ukrainian attacks.

However, the Russian Defense Ministry warned that Ukraine was preparing to attack from Bagmouth’s side “using Prigozhin’s provocation to destabilize the situation”.

In recent days, Vladimir Putin has reiterated that the Ukrainian counteroffensive had failed and that Kiev’s forces had suffered “catastrophic” losses. Yevgeny Prigojine described these successful declarations as “profound deception”.

While many dissidents and Anonymous Russians are in prison for criticizing the conflict in Ukraine, Wagner’s leader has openly questioned the reasons for launching the military intervention. “War is necessary for the promotion of a group of bastards”, he accused the “Russian oligarchs” of “needing war”, while saying that Kiev was “not ready for any deal”.

In Ukraine, Russia launched new missiles overnight against several cities from Friday to Saturday. In Dnipro (center), several houses were completely destroyed and “there are victims,” ​​Mayor Boris Filatov said in a telegram. The head of the Ukrainian capital’s military administration, Sergei Babko, confirmed that anti-aircraft defenses had destroyed “more than 20 missiles in the airspace around Kiev”.

With AFP