Global Courant
NEW YORK
The leader of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said earlier on Saturday his forces in Ukraine had crossed into Rostov, Russia.
In a voice message shared on the Telegram social media platform, he said that his troops crossed the border from everywhere.
Prigozhin challenged the Russian forces and threatened to destroy anyone who stood in the group’s path.
Tensions between the Kremlin and Wagner escalated after Prigozhin accused Russian forces of attacking his mercenaries.
The Russian Ministry of Defense denied these allegations late on Friday.
The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) called on Wagner fighters to arrest Prigozhin.
The FSB said in a statement that Prigozhin’s actions were “backstabbed”.
He urged the warriors not to follow Prigozhin’s “criminal and treacherous” orders and to arrest him.
Russia sent armored vehicles to Moscow in an environment of increased security.
The generals urged the Wagner fighters to obey President Vladimir Putin, accusing Prigozhin of “attempting a coup” with Russia’s commander-in-chief in Ukraine, Sergey Surovikin.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Putin was fully informed about the situation with Prigozhin and all necessary measures were taken.
Meanwhile, the National Anti-Terrorism Committee of Russia filed a criminal case against Prigozhin on charges of incitement to armed rebellion and asked him to “stop the illegal actions”.
Earlier, Progozhin shared a voice message on Telegram claiming that Russian forces attacked his paramilitary group.
After the rocket attack was reported on Wagner, Prigozhin blamed the Russian Ministry of Defense and personally swore to “punish” the perpetrators and Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu.
“We are 25 thousand people and we are trying to understand why there is so much chaos in the country,” said Prigozhin. “These 25,000 people are waiting as tactical reserves, and the strategic reserve is the entire army and the whole country. Anyone who wants to come and join! We need to put an end to this mess.”
He later claimed that Shoygu had come to Rostov-on-Don, Russia, to “organize an operation to destroy Wagner”, adding that he “used artillery and helicopter pilots in the dark.”
Prigozhin claimed on Thursday that Russian chiefs of staff had deceived Putin.
He claimed that “shameless lies were brought to the president’s desk”, highlighting the inconsistency between his own information and official data.
He added that he expects a new wave of military mobilization in Russia, adding that “the people should be prepared” to replace the soldiers who died in the war.
In recent months, Prigozhin has repeatedly accused the Russian Ministry of Defense and Shoygu of not providing enough weapons to the paramilitary group, whose members are fighting alongside Ukrainian forces in the second year of the Ukrainian war.
Earlier, the Wagner leader had claimed that the Ukrainian armed forces were within 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) of Russian positions in the Zaporizhzhia region. At the same time, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported that all attacks by Ukraine were repelled.
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