EBRIL, Kurdistan Region - Wagner Group mercenaries march towards the Russian capital after seizing a military base on Saturday in southern Russia, in mutiny President Vladimir Putin labeled as “treason”.
The escalating internal crisis is the most serious challenge to Putin’s rule with world leaders watching events unfold with concern the situation could develop into a civil war.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner chief and a former close ally of Putin, said his group had seized control of a military airbase in Rostov-on-Don, near the border with Ukraine and a key logistics center in Russia’s war on the country.
"We got to Rostov. Without a single shot we captured the HQ building," he claimed in an audio message on telegram, adding that his forces were welcomed by locals.
According to AFP, the governor of the Lipetsk region, around 420 kilometers away from the Russian capital, said Wagner forces were “moving across” the territory and called on residents to remain in their homes.
In a televised address, Putin described the rebellion as a “stab in the back” saying those responsible will be held accountable for “treason.”
"All those who consciously stood on the path of betrayal, who prepared an armed rebellion, stood on the path of blackmail and terrorist methods, will suffer inevitable punishment, before the law and before our people," the Russian president said.
Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesperson, said the Kremlin chief was still at work and had not fled Moscow, contradicting claims on social media that he had left for St. Petersburg. Russia’s state media reported that the Federal Security Service (FSB) had opened a criminal case into Prigozhin’s “call for armed mutiny.”
Prigozhin on Friday accused Moscow of ordering attacks on the forces’ camps in Ukraine, killing a “huge” number of forces. He claimed the attacks were carried out on orders from Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and chief of the General Staff, Gen. Valery Gerasimov.
Russia’s defense ministry denied the claims.
The Wagner Group is a private military company that has been sanctioned by the US and designated as a significant transnational criminal organization. Prigozhin has also had a number of sanctions slammed on him.
According to the US treasury, the group is responsible for or complicit in, or having engaged in, the targeting of women, children, or any civilians through the commission of acts of violence”.
In May, the French parliament adopted a resolution requesting France and the EU to place the group on the list of terrorist organizations.
The Wagner Group has played a crucial role in Russia’s military ambitions, being a key player in Syria, Libya, Mali, and more recently in Ukraine.
The forces were behind Russia’s capture of Ukraine’s Bakhmut following a long and bloody battle. However, Prigozhin has criticized the Russian military of incompetence and not providing enough weapons to its troops.
Prigozhin warned he was in command of 25,000 troops and that they would punish Shoigu, calling on other Russian troops to join.
