:format(webp)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/grupoclarin/NIXUZWUDHNFLNJ3TGYMSWQL6FU.jpg "The armed rebellion declared by the head of the Russian Wagner Group")
Below is the latest news on the armed rebellion declared by the owner of the Wagner Group, a private Russian military contractor, Yevgeny Prigozhin.
——
Britain’s Defense Ministry described the armed rebellion by Wagner Group mercenaries as the most significant challenge to the Russian state in recent times.
The intelligence report released by the ministry on Saturday claimed that the dispute between Yevgeny Prigozhin’s group and Russian institutions had turned into an “open military confrontation.”
“Wagner almost certainly held key security locations in Rostov-on-Don, including the headquarters directing Russian military operations in Ukraine,” the report noted. “Other Wagner units are moving north through Voronezh Oblast, nearly safely to reach Moscow”.
According to the report, there is very limited evidence of fighting between the mercenary group’s troops and Russian security forces.
“In the next few hours, the loyalty of the Russian security forces, and especially the National Guard, will be key to the development of the crisis,” he added.
——
A video posted on Telegram on Saturday showed Yevgeny Prigozhin, owner of the private army Wagner Group, meeting with Russia’s Deputy Defense Minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov and General Staff Deputy Vladimir Alexeyev.
In the recording, the origin of which could not be independently confirmed, Prigozhin claimed that he and his troops were “saving Russia” and demanded that the Russian authorities fire Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov. .
“We want the chief of the General Staff and Shoigu,” Prigozhin said. “While they are here, we are here, we will blockade the city of Rostov and go to Moscow.”
In the video, Yevkurov and Alexeyev were trying in vain to convince Prigozhin to withdraw his forces from Roston-on-Don.
Prigozhin, a billionaire Kremlin ally, has a longstanding feud with Russia’s military leadership.
——
The head of Ukrainian military intelligence said that the conflict between the Russian military leadership and the owner of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, is “a head-on clash of lies and truths.”
Speaking to Ukrainian television on Saturday, Kyrylo Budanov said the clash occurred because Prigozhin, “like it or not, tells mainly (the) truth,” while Russia’s Defense Ministry tells “mostly lies.”
The conflict “is not fake,” he added.
According to Budanov, while top Russian defense officials talk about progress with brave young soldiers, Prigozhin points to miscalculations, equipment deficiencies, lack of training and other problems.
“This is a head-on clash of lies and truth. Although both work completely in the interests of the Russian Federation, we must remember this, ”she declared.
——
Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the nation and vowed to defend the country and its people from the armed rebellion declared by the owner of the private military contractor Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Putin called the riot a “mortal threat to our state” and promised “tough measures” in response. “All those who prepared the rebellion will suffer an inevitable punishment. The armed forces and other government agencies have received the necessary orders,” he added.
Without referring to Prigozhin directly by name, Putin called his actions “treason against the fatherland” and urged “those who are drawn into this crime not to make a fatal and tragic, unique mistake, and to make the only correct decision: to leave of participating in criminal acts”.
Putin condemned the rebellion at a time when Russia is “fighting the toughest battle for its future” with its war in Ukraine. “The entire military, economic and informational machine of the West is against us,” said the Russian president.