According to their chief, Prigozhin, Wagner’s mercenaries invaded Russian lands and are said to have advanced as far as the city of Rostov. Prigozhin threatened anyone who stood in the way of his army would be destroyed.

The conflict between Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin and the military leadership in the Kremlin, which has been smoldering for months, escalated: According to Prigozhin, fighters from Prigozhin’s mercenary Wagner Group crossed the border from Ukraine into Russia.

Prigozhin said his fighters had invaded the Rostov region in southern Russia. In the city of the same name on the Don, his fighters are said to have captured all military facilities. Prigozhin did not provide any evidence for his statements, and the AFP news agency was initially unable to verify their veracity.

National Guard in front of the city

Local media in Rostov-on-Don reported that a base of Wagner’s private army had been operating there for a long time. So the mercenaries are already there. At first, there were no indications on Russian social networks that Wagner’s forces had actually captured Rostov. Videos showed heavy trucks blocking roads leading into the city. Long convoys of National Guard trucks could be seen outside the city and armored vehicles drove through the streets.

The governor there did not say whether Prigogine had arrived, but he called on the inhabitants to stay in their homes. Rostov is the Russian military headquarters for the Southern District, which also monitors the fighting in Ukraine.

Prigozhin: He will fight to the end

Prigozhin himself said that Wagner’s troops were met by the border guards when they approached the city and were now going to Rostov. At checkpoints, Wagner’s soldiers encountered young recruits who offered no resistance. He added that his forces „do not fight children.” „But we will eliminate all who stand in our way,” he said. We are advancing and we will fight to the end.”

In the framework of the investigations against him and his imminent arrest, Prigozhin said that his forces are connecting the brothers. They are not traitors.

The FSB calls for mercenaries to arrest

On Friday evening, Prigozhin accused Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu of ordering missile attacks on his forces in the rear, killing many of Wagner’s mercenaries. The chief of the Russian General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, ordered the launch of the fighter jets. No information was received from the official Russian side.

Wagner’s chief threatened countermeasures and called on the Russians to rebel against the army command. He called Shoigu and Gerasimov „scum” that must be eliminated. At the same time, Prigozhin emphasized that he did not call for a „military coup” and that he did not want to oppose President Vladimir Putin. After the „March of Justice” against the Minister of Defense and the Chief of Staff, his forces will return to the front lines.

Prigozhin faces arrest and imprisonment for several years

The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office has launched investigations into the „armed insurrection”. According to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the 61-year-old faces between 12 and 20 years in prison. Wanted by the FSB, the Russian domestic intelligence service.

Prigozhin has called for a fight against Moscow’s military leadership, according to the National Counterterrorism Committee, which includes practically all of Russia’s other security services in addition to the FSB. The FSB then called on Wagner’s forces to disobey Prigozhin’s „criminal” and „treasonous” orders and take steps to arrest him.

Armored personnel carriers in front of Duma

Russian state television broadcast a special news program that night reporting that Prigozhin had fallen from the position of mentor and captured. The talk in the program was about Prigozhin’s „provocation” in favor of Ukraine.

During the confrontation, the important general of the Russian army, Sergei Surovkin, sided with the Moscow power apparatus. Surovikin, deputy chief of the Russian General Staff, called on Prigozhin in a video message to end the power struggle. Surovikin is actually an ally of Prigozhin, but he seems to have decided to stay loyal to the Kremlin.

According to state media, all important facilities in the Russian capital have been placed under special control. Videos have previously surfaced online showing an infantry fighting vehicle and an armored military truck in front of Russia’s parliament, the State Duma. According to the Associated Press news agency, soldiers armed with their rifles were stationed in front of the Ministry of Defense. Streets around the presidential administration near Red Square in central Moscow have been cordoned off, bringing traffic to a standstill.

The United States wants to coordinate with partners

A spokesman said the US government was watching developments closely. „We are monitoring the situation and will coordinate these developments with allies and partners,” said a spokesman for the National Security Council. Inform President Joe Biden. The head of Ukraine’s Military Intelligence Service, Kirillo Budanov, commented that the rival Russian forces were „ripping each other apart in the struggle for power and money”.