The head of the Russian military contractor Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin has rejected accusations of “treason” by President Vladimir Putin after his fighters crossed from Ukraine into the Russian border city of Rostov-on-Don.
Prigozhin vowed to fight anyone who tried to stop his fighters.
His troops have been fighting in Ukraine on behalf of Moscow and were involved in the battle of Bakhmut and Soledar in eastern Ukraine.
On Saturday, Prigozhin claimed his forces had taken control of military facilities in the city, including the airfield.
Russia’s TASS news agency released videos and pictures showing armed men surrounding administrative buildings in Rostov and tanks deployed in the city centre.
Prigozhin had earlier accused the Russian top brass of having launched an attack on their camps in Ukraine. He said:
All of us are ready to die. All 25 000, and then another 25 000. We are dying for the Russian people.
In an emergency televised address on Saturday, Putin said that the “armed mutiny” by Wagner amounted to “treason”.
He warned that anyone who had taken up arms against the Russian military would be punished.
The Federal Security Service (FSB) said Prigozhin’s actions were intended to start a civil war and “a stab in the back to Russian servicemen fighting pro-fascist Ukrainian forces”.
On Friday, Prigozhin accused the country’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu of ordering a rocket attack on Wagner’s field camps in Ukraine.
He claimed that 2 000 of his fighters had been killed in the blasts.
Prigozhin’s message included a call to action that the Russian government has since interpreted as an appeal to mutiny.
He, however, said his actions did not amount to a military coup but were rather, “a march of justice”.
Yulia Shapovalova, reporting for Al Jazeera from Moscow, said Russia’s Ministry of Defence issued a statement claiming that Ukraine was taking advantage of the Wagner chief’s “provocation” and had launched an offensive in the direction of Bakhmut city. Said Shapovalova:
Also, at the moment, armoured military personnel vehicles can be seen in the streets of Moscow. But generally, people report that the capital looks pretty calm right now.
That’s probably because security measures have been stepped up in the capital and all the most important facilities have been taken under protection.
Russia’s FSB security service has appealed to Wagner fighters to detain their boss, Shapovalova added.
The United States said it was monitoring the situation.
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