Moscow: In the midst of the long-running Ukraine War, shocking news is coming out from Russia. In a surprisingly growing infighting, Russia has accused Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner Group of mercenaries, of calling for an armed rebellion. Prigozhin said on Saturday that his men had crossed the border from Ukraine to Russia and were prepared to go “to any extent” against Russian forces.
Russia’s FSB security service has opened a criminal case against him as a long-running standoff between Yevgeny Prigozhin and military top officials reached a climax, the Tass news agency said. The Security Service has called on Wagner Private Military Company forces to ignore Yevgeny Prigozhin’s orders and arrest him. The move came shortly after the Kremlin accused Prigozhin of calling for an armed rebellion.
Wagner has often downplayed his limited role in the war as head of a private detachment on social media, CBC News reports, for months openly lashing out at Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Russia’s top general Valery Gerasimov for his incompetence and his military. Accusing them of refusing to give ammunition.
‘Stabbed in the back of Russian soldiers’
Yevgeny Prigozhin urged Russians to join his forces and punish Moscow’s military leadership in the most daring challenge to President Vladimir Putin since the start of the offensive in Ukraine last year. In a statement, the FSB said “Prigozhin’s statements and actions are in fact a call to start an armed civil struggle on the territory of the Russian Federation and a backstabbing of Russian soldiers fighting pro-fascist Ukrainian forces.”
The Kremlin said Putin has been informed of Prigozhin’s claims and necessary measures are being taken. Prigozhin had previously said that the Wagner Field camps were attacked with rockets, helicopter gunships, and artillery fire on the orders of General Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the Army General Staff.
Yevgeny Prigozhin called for an armed rebellion
Early Saturday, Yevgeny Prigozhin said in a telegram post that his men had crossed the border from Ukraine into southern Russia and were prepared to go all out against Russian forces. He said that he and his men would destroy anyone who came in their way. He said that ‘we are moving forward and will move forward till the end’. In his direct challenge to the Kremlin, Prigozhin called for an armed uprising on Friday (local time) with the aim of removing Russia’s defense minister.
