Wagner Mercenaries Reportedly Seize Control of Military Facilities in Vital Russian City

Wagner Mercenaries Reportedly Seize Control of Military Facilities in Vital Russian City

Ira Singh
24 June’23

In a stunning turn of events, reports are emerging that a contingent of Wagner mercenaries, a Russian private military group, has seized control of several key military facilities in a crucial Russian city. The development has sent shockwaves throughout the region, raising concerns about the implications for national security and stability.

According to recent reports,Prigozhin, who heads private military group Wagner, pledged to blockade the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and move on to Moscow if Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Russia’s top general Valery Gerasimov did not meet with him in the city, where Russia’s Southern Military District is headquartered.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense denied Prigozhin’s claims of an attack on a Wagner camp, calling it an “informational provocation.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin was expected to make a speech Saturday, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, as cited by state media outlet Tass.

Prigozhin, who has frequently criticized Russia’s traditional military hierarchy, warned in his messages that retribution would be meted out for the alleged attack on his fighters.“We will deal with those who destroy Russian soldiers and return to the front, justice for the troops will be restored, and then justice for all of Russia,” he said.There are 25,000 of us and we are going to find out why there is such chaos 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, everyone who wants to, join us. We must end this debacle,” he said, in a radical escalation of a longstanding feud with Russia’s military leaders.

Security measures were stepped up in Moscow Friday night. Russian intelligence official, Lt. Gen. Vladimir Alekseev, posted a video about Prigozhin’s actions that day, describing it as a coup attempt, according to sources.

Prigozhin said that his criticism of the Russian military leadership was a “march of justice” and not a coup. “This is not a military coup, this is a march of justice. Our actions do not interfere with the troops in any way,” Prigozhin said.

Follow up

Wagner has played a prominent role in the Ukraine war, and Prigozhin, so far, has faced few consequences for his public feud with Russia’s military leadership – where he has accused Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and armed forces chief Valery Gerasimov of not giving his forces ammunition.

The FSB’s criminal case against Prigozhin accused him of “calling for an armed rebellion” – a crime Russian prosecutors say is punishable by imprisonment for 12 to 20 years, according to sources.