Mutinous Russian mercenary fighters from the Wagner Group were making their way to the capital before their leader Yevgeny Prigozhin ordered them to return to base to avoid bloodshed.
This latest incident with Prigozhin in a months-long feud with Russia’s defence ministry over the fight in Ukraine was the biggest threat President Vladimir Putin has faced in his 22-year rule.
The group has been a key piece of Russia’s strategy in Ukraine, with Wagner forces being used to hold cities like Bakhmut. Prigozhin has sharply criticized Russian military leadership for weeks, calling top brass incompetent, even traitorous. He has also refused to sign a contract to cooperate with the Russian Defense Ministry.
Tensions between Russia’s defense ministry and Wagner escalated dramatically Friday when Prigozhin alleged that Russian forces had attacked Wagner field camps in eastern Ukraine.
Late Friday, Prigozhin issued video taped remarks that appeared to call for a rebellion against Russian military leadership, but he was characteristically vague in defining his plans.
In this grab taken from video and released by Prigozhin Press Service on June 23, 2023, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the outspoken millionaire head of the private military contractor Wagner, speaks during his interview at an unspecified location.
Prigozhin said early Saturday that Wagner forces had left Ukraine for Russia and had reached the city of Rostov-on-Don, which is home to the Russian military headquarters for the southern region and oversees the fighting in Ukraine. In an intelligence meeting, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said Prigozhin’s forces appeared to control the military headquarters.
Wagner boss, “Putin’s butcher,” says Russia at risk of facing “revolution”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin called the uprising “a stab in the back” in a televised address Saturday morning.
“All those who prepared the rebellion will suffer inevitable punishment,” Putin said. “The armed forces and other government agencies have received the necessary orders.”