Riga A dispute between the Russian army and the Wagner mercenary group fighting for Russia in Ukraine develops into a military conflict. Allegedly, the army fired rockets at the Wagner mercenaries.
They then advanced on the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, from where the Russian army is coordinating the war in Ukraine. In the city, the Wagner mercenaries are said to have occupied the military airport. Their leader Yevgeny Prigozhin is already threatening a march on Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his own armed forces to punish the insurgents, calling the nation “treason” in a televised address.
The authorities in Moscow and the surrounding area declared an anti-terror emergency. Safety precautions have been tightened. The M-4 highway leading south from Moscow was closed to make way for a military convoy.
On one side of the dispute, which has now escalated, is Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, a close confidant of President Putin. On the other side is Prigozhin, head of the Wagner paramilitary group, which recently fought for Russia over the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.
25,000 mercenaries against the Russian army
According to Prigozhin, Shoigu ordered an attack on the Wagner troops. The army attacked his camp with artillery, helicopters and rockets and killed many of his men.
In the eyes of the Russian leadership, the head of the Russian private army, Wagner, is now considered a possible coup plotter.
(Photo: dpa)
As a result, Priogoshin apparently moved his troops against the army. According to his own statements, 25,000 soldiers are under his command. It is not known how many of them he is supposed to have advanced into Russian territory with.
>> Read here: Wagner boss laments “chaos” in Russian warfare
In a video on Telegram, Priogoshin called on the Russian army not to resist. “We will treat those who try to oppose us as a threat and destroy them immediately,” he announced. Any checkpoint that resists will be fired upon. Attacking aircraft would be shot down.
In the video, the Wagner boss also said that his troops would march on Moscow if Defense Minister Shoigu and Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov did not come to him.
Videos should show attack
The headquarters of the Russian army for the south of the country is located in the city of Rostov-on-Don, not far from the Ukrainian border. Various videos circulating on social media show soldiers on the streets, as well as military vehicles, including tanks. It is not clear to which side they belonged, wrote the independent Russian exile broadcaster Telekanal Doschd (TV Rain).
The military command for southern Russia is located in the base. The fighting in Ukraine is also monitored from there.
According to the Russian state news agency Tass, military checkpoints have been set up near the headquarters in Rostov-on-Don. The military and law enforcement officers would maintain public order, the report said.
Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin (middle) in conversation with Valeri Gerasimov (l), chief of staff, and Sergei Shoigu, defense minister of Russia.
(Photo: dpa)
Prigozhin claimed that Shoigu was personally in Rostov-on-Don to lead the attack on Wagner and then “cowardly” fled. “These scum will be stopped,” he said in reference to Shoigu. “This is not a military coup,” said Prigozhin, “but a march of justice.” Most of the military supports him.
“We will clean up with those who destroy Russian soldiers and then return to the front,” he assured. “Justice will be restored in the armed forces, and then justice will be restored across Russia.”
Shortly before, Prigozhin had publicly questioned the basis for Russia’s war against Ukraine. It is a lie that Ukraine is aggression and that it should attack Russia together with NATO.
He had also repeatedly accused the military leadership of incompetence and held Shoigu personally responsible for defeats in the war.
On the night of Saturday, the Russian authorities began criminal investigations against Prigozhin because of a call for a military coup. The allegations are untrue and a provocation, the Ministry of Defense said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov spoke of an “attempted armed uprising”. President Putin is informed around the clock by the Defense Ministry, the FSB secret service, the Interior Ministry and the National Guard.
In an initial reaction, the EU Commission stated that this was an internal Russian matter and that the situation was being monitored.
Extent of attack unclear
Various Russian politicians reacted with concern to the development. The governor of Sevastopol in Crimea, Mikhail Razoschajew, who was appointed by Russia, writes on Telegram: “Like many of you, I don’t sleep, I update the news feed.” He appealed to believe in the country and the president.
The exiled Russian political analyst Tatyana Stanovaya, on the other hand, wrote that so far there is no convincing evidence that Prigozhin would lead his troops anywhere. It was a “holiday” for the FSB and the General Staff, since Prigozhin would be punished.
Prigozhin’s relationship with Putin was long considered close. Stanovaya, who does research at the Carnegie Center for Russia and Eurasia, emphasized that he has not had direct access to Putin recently.
>> Read here: The Kremlin is losing patience with Wagner boss Prigozhin
“Many in power are now happy about the end of Wagner,” writes Stanovaya. However, “the whole story” is at the same time “a blow to Putin’s position, since many people within the elite hold Putin personally responsible for the fact that it has come to this”.
Jade McGlynn, a Russia expert at London’s Kings College, assumes that a coup in Moscow is “very unlikely”. “Prigozhin has no support from the elite”, instead he is an outsider – “and Putin is on the side of the elite”. However, Prigozhin is also an outlet for “anti-elite frustration” over Russia’s failure in the war. This anger will continue to need a figurehead.
According to the Russian political economist Alexandra Prokopenko, who is currently doing research in Berlin at the Center for East European and International Studies, it looks as if “Prigozhin is fighting to survive in the system.” However, Putin’s regime is “not really threatened yet”, judges she.
Attacks on Ukraine continue
At the same time, there is already a debate about the effects that internal developments in Russia could have on the course of the war against Ukraine. Russian Army General Sergey Surovikin, who is also Deputy Chief of the Russian General Staff, called on Prigozhin in a video message to end the power struggle.
“The enemy is just waiting for our domestic political situation to deteriorate,” said Surovikin, who is actually considered an ally of Prigozhin. One should not play into the opponent’s hands “at this difficult time for the country”.
Attacks by the Russian army on Ukraine continued. In the night of Saturday there was another air alert throughout the country, according to official information, two civilians were killed in the capital Kiev as a result of the Russian attack. Eight people were injured. Remnants of a missile launched by anti-aircraft guns fell on an apartment building, which then caught fire.
According to Russian media reports, the websites VKontakte and Yandex, popular in Russia, began blocking information related to Prigozhin.
With agency material.
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