LONDON – Rebellious Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin mentioned on Saturday he had taken management of the Russian metropolis of Rostov-on-Don as a part of an try to oust the navy management amid what the authorities mentioned was an armed mutiny.
Prigozhin demanded that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the General Staff, whom he has pledged to oust over what he says is their disastrous management of the warfare in opposition to Ukraine, come to see him in Rostov, a metropolis close to the Ukrainian border.
He had earlier mentioned that he had 25,000 fighters shifting in the direction of Moscow to “restore justice” and had alleged, with out offering proof, that the navy had killed an enormous variety of fighters from his Wagner personal militia in an air strike, one thing the protection ministry denied.
“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…,” he mentioned in one in every of many frenzied audio messages.
“There are 25,000 of us and we are going to figure out why chaos is happening in the country,” he mentioned, promising to destroy any checkpoints or air forces that obtained in Wagner’s manner.
Prigozhin, whose Wagner militia spearheaded the seize of the Ukrainian metropolis of Bakhmut final month, has for months been overtly accusing Shoigu and Gerasimov of incompetence and of denying Wagner ammunition and assist in its battles in Ukraine.
The dramatic flip, with many particulars unclear, seemed like the most important home disaster President Vladimir Putin has confronted since he ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine — one thing he known as a “special military operation” — in February final yr.
Putin was as a consequence of deal with the nation quickly, the RIA news company cited the Kremlin as saying on Saturday.
Russia’s FSB safety had earlier opened a prison case in opposition to Prigozhin for armed mutiny and had mentioned that his statements had been “calls for the start of an armed civil conflict on Russian territory and his actions a ‘stab in the back’ of Russian servicemen fighting pro-fascist Ukrainian forces”.
It added: “We urge the … fighters not to make irreparable mistakes, to stop any forcible actions against the Russian people, not to carry out the criminal and traitorous orders of Prigozhin, to take measures to detain him.”
The state news company TASS quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying that each one of Russia’s major safety companies had been reporting to Putin “round the clock.”
Security was being tightened in Moscow, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin mentioned on his Telegram channel.
In Washington, US President Joe Biden was briefed on the state of affairs, a White House spokesperson mentioned.
On Friday, Prigozhin had appeared to cross a brand new line in his more and more vitriolic feud with the ministry, saying that Putin’s said rationale for invading Ukraine 16 months in the past was based mostly on lies concocted by the military’s high brass.
“The war was needed … so that Shoigu could become a marshal … so that he could get a second ‘Hero’ [of Russia] medal,” Prigozhin mentioned in a video clip.
“The war wasn’t needed to demilitarize or denazify Ukraine,” he mentioned, referring to Putin’s justifications for the warfare.
About 2 a.m. (2300 GMT), Prigozhin posted a message on the Telegram app saying his forces had been in Rostov and able to “go all the way” in opposition to the highest brass and destroy anybody who stood of their manner.
About 5 a.m. (0200 GMT), the administration of the Voronezh area, on the M-4 motorway between the regional capital Rostov-on-Don and Moscow, mentioned on Telegram {that a} navy convoy was on the freeway and urged residents to keep away from utilizing it.
Unverified footage posted on social media confirmed a convoy of varied navy autos, together with a minimum of one tank and one armored automobile on flatbed vans. It was not clear the place they had been, or whether or not the lined vans within the convoy contained fighters. Some of the autos had been flying the Russian flag.
Footage on channels based mostly in Rostov-on-Don confirmed armed males in navy uniform skirting the regional police headquarters within the metropolis on foot, in addition to tanks positioned outdoors the headquarters of the Southern Military District.
Reuters confirmed the areas proven however couldn’t decide when the footage was shot.
Military convoy
Prigozhin denied that he was making an attempt to stage a navy coup.
He mentioned he had led his fighters out of Ukraine to Rostov, the place a video posted by a pro-Wagner Telegram channel confirmed him, seemingly relaxed, conversing with two generals on the headquarters of Russia’s large Southern Military District.
The video confirmed him telling the generals: “We have arrived here, we want to receive the chief of the general staff and Shoigu. Unless they come, we’ll be here, we’ll blockade the city of Rostov and head for Moscow.”
That gave the impression to be a reference to a navy convoy making an attempt to make a 1,200-km (750-mile) drive in the direction of Moscow, ostensibly to topple the navy management.
Russian native officers mentioned a navy convoy was certainly on the principle motorway linking the southern a part of European Russia with Moscow, and warned residents to keep away from it.
Army Lieutenant-General Vladimir Alekseyev — who was later to look with Prigozhin within the video from Rostov-on-Don — issued a video attraction asking Prigozhin to rethink his actions.
“Only the president has the right to appoint the top leadership of the armed forces, and you are trying to encroach on his authority,” he mentioned.
Army General Sergei Surovikin, the deputy commander of Russian forces in Ukraine, whom Prigozhin has praised up to now, mentioned in a video that “the enemy is just waiting for our internal political situation to deteriorate”.
“Before it is too late … you must submit to the will and order of the people’s president of the Russian Federation. Stop the columns and return them to their permanent bases,” he mentioned.
An unverified video on a Telegram channel near Wagner confirmed the purported scene of an air strike in opposition to Wagner forces. It confirmed a forest the place small fires had been burning and bushes appeared to have been damaged by drive. There gave the impression to be one physique, however no extra direct proof of any assault.
It carried the caption: “A missile attack was launched on the camps of PMC (Private Military Company) 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.” —Reuters
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
