Following his appeal for his men to overthrow the nation’s military leadership, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner private military organization, was reportedly charged with mutiny by Russian authorities, who also increased security in Moscow and issued an arrest warrant for him.
Former Putin confidant Prigozhin demanded vengeance after alleging that “an enormous amount” of his soldiers were killed by the Russian military in Friday’s attacks on the Wagner camps.
There was no independent proof to support his assertion, and the military denied that any strikes had taken place.
Leading Russian military leaders who had collaborated with Wagner encouraged the group’s fighters to quit before it was too late as Russian forces in armored personnel carriers moved to secure crucial locations in Moscow.
⚡️Streets of Rostov tonight pic.twitter.com/5QFwsZOrlE
— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) June 23, 2023
⚡️Some more pic.twitter.com/6e4IbPAYoM
— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) June 23, 2023
Prigozhin, a convicted criminal who befriended Putin after working as his chef in St. Petersburg, has leveraged the conflict in Ukraine to establish himself as one of Russia’s most powerful and well-liked figures, employing tens of thousands of combat-tested soldiers as part of his ‘Wagner Group.’
Prigozhin has been directing his animosity on Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Armed Forces Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov for the past few months.
He charged Shoigu earlier on Friday with inciting war in Ukraine using a fake narrative in order to win accolades and advance in rank.
In a late-night video appeal, Gen. Sergei Surovikin, the former commander of Russian forces in Ukraine who, unlike Shoigu and Gerasimov, has consistently received praise from Prigozhin, pleaded with Wagner’s men not to follow the group’s leader.
Wagner’s men were requested by the FSB security service to detain Prigozhin.
The issue surrounding Prigozhin has been communicated to Putin, and all required actions are being taken, according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, according to official news sources.
This story is developing…
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