The Russian security services (FSB) on Friday accused the head of the paramilitary group Wagner of inciting civil war by calling for an uprising against the General Staff, and urged his men to disobey him and continue his arrest.
“Prigozhin’s statements and actions are in reality a call to unleash an armed civil conflict on the territory of Russia (…). We call on the fighters of the Wagner group not to commit an irreparable mistake, to take actions with violence against the people Russian, not to carry out the criminal and treacherous orders of Prigozhin and to take measures to arrest him”stated the FSB, quoted by Russian news agencies.
At the same time, an influential Russian general, Sergueï Surovikin, called on the fighters of the Wagner group to “stop” and return to their barracks “before it is too late”. military leadership.
“I address the fighters and leaders of the Wagner group (…). We are of the same blood, we are warriors. I ask you to stop (…). Before it is too late, it is necessary to obey the will and orders of the President-elect of Russia”, stated in a video broadcast on Telegram by a journalist from Russian state television.
Earlier, the FBS had announced an investigation into the leader of the paramilitary group Wagner after Yevgeny Prigozhin called for an uprising against the Russian military leadership, which he accused of attacking his fighters.
“The allegations made public on behalf of Yevgeny Prigozhin are baseless. (…) The FSB [serviços de segurança russos] opened an investigation for inciting an armed riot”Russia’s National Counterterrorism Committee said in a statement quoted by Russian news agencies.
The Russian Presidency (Kremlin) in turn announced that the Russian head of state, Vladimir Putin, will be informed about the conflict between the Russian army and the Wagner group.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, quoted by the Tass bureau, also assured that necessary measures are being taken.
The leader of the Wagner paramilitary group on Friday called for an uprising against Russia’s military high command, stressed it had 25,000 troops and urged Russians to join them in a “march for justice”.
“There are 25 thousand of us and we are going to determine why there is chaos in the country (…) Our strategic reserves are the whole army and the whole country”emphasized Yevgeny Prigozhin in an audio message, urging “anyone who wants to get involved” to “put an end to the confusion.”
However, Prigozhin defended himself against any “military coup” and claimed to be leading a “march for justice”.
“This is not a military coup but a march for justice, our actions do not hinder the armed forces”he assured in an audio message.
Meanwhile, security measures in Moscow have been tightened.
Prigozhin had previously accused the Russian military of carrying out attacks on his mercenary camps, resulting in “a very large number of casualties”, allegations denied by the Russian defense ministry.
Prigozhin’s message was accompanied by a video of about a minute, which showed a devastated forest, some fires and at least the body of a soldier.
The Russian army immediately denied carrying out any attacks on camps belonging to the Wagner group.
“The messages and videos posted by Prigozhin on social media about alleged ‘attacks by the Russian Ministry of Defense on the rear bases of the Wagner paramilitary group’ do not correspond to reality and are a provocation”the Russian government said in a statement.
In another response, Wagner’s leader stated that the group’s leaders decided it was necessary to stop those who have “military responsibility for the country”.
“Those who oppose this will be considered a threat and immediately destroyed”Prigojine added, promising to “respond” to the alleged attacks.
These strong accusations from Prigozhin expose the deep tensions within Moscow’s troops over the offensive in Ukraine.
The leader of the Wagner group had previously said that the Russian army is retreating to various sectors of southern and eastern Ukraine, Kherson and Zaporijia, respectively, and to Bakhmut, contradicting Moscow’s claims that the counter-offensive in Kiev was a failure.
Source: DN
