Explained: Wagner Group coup against Putin, Russian military leadership
Wagner's challenge to Russian president Vladimir Putin, comes as he accused the Russian top brass of launching missile strikes against the group's forces.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner mercenary group, made a bold declaration Saturday, vowing to overthrow Moscow's military leadership, in a surprising development amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. The Wagner group, officially PMC Wagner, is a Russian paramilitary organisation that is widely seen as operating beyond the reach of the law in Russia and has spearheaded much of Russia's offensive in Ukraine. (Follow Russian coup LIVE updates)
The group is headed towards Moscow and has already claimed control of two key Russian cities and said it also downed three Russian helicopters in the process.
The 62-year-old Wagner chief’s audacious challenge to Russian president Vladimir Putin, comes as he accused the Russian top brass of launching missile strikes against his forces, which he said, killed 'a huge number of Wagner fighters'.
Also Read: Chechen soldiers to fight against Wagner group in Russia: 'A knife in the back'
Prigozhin's 'march of justice’ against 'evil' Russian military
Prigozhin has consistently held defence minister Sergei Shoigu and top army general Valery Gerasimovresponsible for the deaths of Wagner fighters.
Although the feud feud dates back a few years, it exploded after the death of the Wagner fighters and over the defence ministry's demands military contractors to sign contracts before July 1. In a statement released on Friday, the Wagner boss said he was ready to find a compromise but 'they have treacherously cheated us'. "Today they carried out a rocket strike on our rear camps, and a huge number of our comrades got killed."
In a series of messages, he warned Russians against resisting his forces and called for their support. He has insisted this attempt to overthrow Moscow leadership is 'not a military coup, but a march of justice' for his forces. "We need to put an end to this mess," he said.
"The council of commanders of PMC Wagner has made a decision -- the evil that the military leadership of the country brings must be stopped," he said in a series of audio messages released by his spokespeople.
Shortly after the announcement of the armed mutiny, Putin addressed the nation, terming the “rebellion” a “a stab in the back” of Russian people. He vowed to crush the mutiny, to which the Wagner chief replied that the Russian president made “a wrong choice during his speech and that the country will soon have a new president.”
Russian defence ministry’s urge to call off mutiny
Prigozhin's claims of an attack on his forces were refuted by the Russian defence ministry, who said his statements "do not correspond to reality". The ministry is also concerned about Ukrainian troops taking advantage of the internal discord to prepare for an assault near the eastern hotspot of Bakhmut.
A prominent Russian general urged Prigozhin to halt his efforts to oust Russian leadership. "I urge you to stop," Sergei Surovikin, commander of Russia's aerospace forces, said in a video address. "Before it is too late, it is necessary... to obey the will and order of the popularly elected president of the Russian Federation."