Russia: Wagner Mercenary Leader Declares War On Kremlin, Sends 25,000 Troops To Moscow [Video]

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner group, a mercenary organization, has issued a call for a coup against Russia’s military leaders, saying that he has 25,000 fighters prepared to “put an end to this mess.”

Russian soldiers were placed on high alert on Friday night, June 23, after Prigozhin urged citizens to remain at home and threatened to march on the Kremlin.

Wagner’s leader made this call after accusing Russian generals of conducting an airstrike on his fighters in Ukraine. He claimed that a substantial number of casualties had been inflicted but provided no evidence to substantiate his claim.

In a late-night audio message, Prigozhin declared that his troops were entering Rostov, as he recounted a friendly encounter between his fighters and border guards.

“We crossed the state border in all places,” Prigozhin said. “The border guards came out to meet and hugged our fighters.

“We are entering Rostov. We don’t fight children. Shoigu (Defence Minister) kills children. He put 18-year-old boys against us. These guys will live and go back to their mothers. But we will destroy everything that gets in the way.

Prigozhin later alleged that his forces had downed a Russian military helicopter that had allegedly fired upon civilians in Rostov, although he did not provide any evidence to support this claim.

Russia’s primary intelligence agency, the FSB, announced that it had initiated a criminal case against Prigozhin, formerly regarded as one of Vladimir Putin’s most trusted allies.

The FSB labeled him a “foreign agent” and accused him of engaging in “armed rebellion within Russia.” Punishments for such charges range from 12 to 20 years in prison.

The FSB also urged members of the Wagner group to apprehend Prigozhin.

In his Telegram audio message advocating for the overthrow of Russian military leaders, Prigozhin said “The commanders’ council of the Wagner Private Military Company has reached a decision.

“The evil that the country’s military leadership perpetuates must be stopped. I ask you not to resist. Anyone who does will be considered a threat and destroyed. That goes for any checkpoints and aviation on our way.”

“Presidential power, the government, the police and Russian guard will work as usual. This is not a military coup, but a march of justice. Our actions do not interfere with the troops in any way.”

He added, “There are 25,000 of us and we are going to figure out what this chaos is happening in the country. Anyone who wants to join can. We need to end this mess.”

Earlier on the same day, Prigozhin asserted that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was built upon lies, claiming that the country posed no threat to Moscow or its citizens.

He presented a video exposing Vladimir Putin’s rationale for the war, which has resulted in over 220,000 Russian soldiers being killed or wounded.

While the outspoken commander of the Wagner group has frequently criticized the conduct of Russia’s Ministry of Defense, he had not previously attacked the core pillars of Moscow’s propaganda.

“The Ministry of Defence deceived the president and the public, telling them that there was insane aggression from Ukraine and that they were going to attack us with the entire Nato bloc,” Prigohzin said.

Reports emerging on social media on Saturday morning allege that Putin has been sent to his bunker in the Kremlin.

Videos circulating online show hundreds of tanks belonging to the Wagner group traversing inside Russia, with main Russian troops observing passively.

Another video depicted FSB agents engaging in a shootout with Wagner fighters.

The United States and Ukraine declared their keen interest in observing the unfolding situation.

Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov confirmed that the Russian leader was aware of “the situation surrounding Prigozhin.”

Subsequent reports indicated that Putin’s motorcade was observed speeding through Moscow from his suburban residence to the Kremlin.

General Sergei Surovikin, the deputy head of the armed forces in Ukraine, appealed to Mr. Prigohzin, urging him to “stop the convoys and return them to their bases.”

“Together we have been on a difficult path,” Gen Surovikin said. “We fought together, took risks, suffered losses and won together. We are the same blood. We are warriors. I urge you to stop.

“The enemy is just waiting for the internal political situation in our country to deteriorate. You can’t play into the hands of the enemy in these difficult times for our country.”

News reports also said that an emergency plan called “krepost”, or fortress, had deployed Russian soldiers to strategic locations and around the capital.

Prigozhin has been an outspoken critic of Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s Defense Minister, and Valery Gerasimov, the head of the military.

He expressed his desire to avenge the ordinary Russian soldiers who fell victim to incompetent leadership since the start of the invasion of Ukraine last February.

On Friday evening, he accused Mr. Shoigu of ordering the Russian military to shell a Wagner camp and shared a video purportedly showing the remains of the destroyed camp.

In response, the Russian Ministry of Defense issued a statement denying these allegations.

“All the messages and video frames distributed on social networks on behalf of Prigozhin about the alleged strike by the Russian Ministry of Defence on the rear camps of Wagner do not correspond to reality,” it said

Watch videos of the ongoing war in Russia:

The videos coming in are getting crazier by the minute. This strike shows a insurgent convoy heading for Moscow on the M-4 highway but the target could be also just a civilian bus. At this point the Russian regime military completely loses any reluctance.#Russia #coup pic.twitter.com/Ql98RprGUe

— (((Tendar))) (@Tendar) June 24, 2023

🚨NOW🔥🇷🇺🇺🇦
Incredible video showing flares from a Ka-52 helicopter deflect a Wagner anti aircraft missile#Russia #Ukraine #Rusya #wagner #Kremlin #Putin #Prigozhin pic.twitter.com/brg99LMXQd

— Eren 𝕮🇹🇷 (@Eren50855570) June 24, 2023

Russian military helicopters are bombing fuel depots held by the Wagner Group in the Voronezh region. #WagnerCoup #WagnerGroup #Russia #Putin pic.twitter.com/g0FF5lHFLN

— Paul Golding (@GoldingBF) June 24, 2023

https://twitter.com/tweetforAnna/status/1672558998099296258?s=20

The Russian regime army has started to target random civilian cars in Voronezh. It is hell. #Russia #coup #Voronezh pic.twitter.com/IfBVvnlLXu

— (((Tendar))) (@Tendar) June 24, 2023

Russia: A bunch of dump trucks full of sand are being placed at all entrances into Moscow. pic.twitter.com/Lw3ho9m8Gq

— Igor Sushko (@igorsushko) June 24, 2023

https://twitter.com/spectatorindex/status/1672558519109980160?s=20

Another video from Rostov. Locals ask Wagner to get out of the city: ‘Until the whole city is broken up because of you….Did you hear what Putin said?’ #Russia #WagnerGroup #Putin #Prigozhin pic.twitter.com/nKjlNKOq2h

— Paul Golding (@GoldingBF) June 24, 2023

Russian civilians in Rostov have started bringing food and water to the Wagner Group soldiers stationed in their city. #Russia #Putin #Wagner #WagnerCoup #WagnerGroup pic.twitter.com/J0R0VhWRTR

— Paul Golding (@GoldingBF) June 24, 2023

KanyiDaily also reported how thousands of men and women left Russia after President Vladimir Putin ordered 300,000 people to be recruited into the military to fight in the war in Ukraine.