Russian media reported that Wagner offices in several Russian cities had reopened on Monday and the company had resumed enlisting recruits. He claimed the money was intended to pay his soldiers' families. Petersburg office amid the rebellion found 4 billion rubles (USD 8 million) in trucks outside the building, according to Russian media reports confirmed by the Wagner boss. Russian media reported that a criminal case against Prigozhin hasn't been closed, despite earlier Kremlin statements, and some Russian lawmakers called for his head.Īndrei Gurulev, a retired general and current lawmaker who has rowed with the mercenary leader, said Prigozhin and his right-hand man Dmitry Utkin deserve a bullet in the head. It was unclear what resources Prigozhin can draw on, and how much of his substantial wealth he can access. Russia's Defence Ministry has denied attacking Wagner's camp, and the US had intelligence that Prigozhin was building up his forces near the border with Russia for some time, suggesting the revolt was planned. Prigozhin expressed regret for downing the aircraft but said they were bombing his convoys. Russian media reported that several military helicopters and a communications plane were shot down by Wagner forces, killing at least 15. Though the mutiny was brief, it was not bloodless. The Belarusian military monitoring group Belaruski Hajun said on Monday on Telegram that it had seen no activity in that district consistent with construction of a facility, and hadn't no indications of Wagner convoys either in or moving towards Belarus. The report couldn't be independently verified. The independent Russian news outlet Vyorstka claimed that construction of a field camp for up to 8,000 Wagner troops was underway in an area of Belarus about 200 kilometers (320 miles) north of the border with Ukraine. Prigozhin didn't disclose details, but said Lukashenko proposed finding solutions for the Wagner private military company to continue its work in a lawful jurisdiction. That suggested Prigozhin might keep his military force, although it wasn't immediately clear which jurisdiction he was referring to. The bullish statement made no clearer what would ultimately happen to Prigozhin and his forces under the deal purportedly brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. He also mocked the Russian military for failing to protect the country, pointing out security breaches that allowed Wagner to march 780 kilometers (500 miles) without facing resistance and block all military units on its way. In his statement, Prigozhin taunted Russia's military, calling his march a master class on how it should have carried out the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. There was no confirmation of his whereabouts Monday, although a popular Russian news channel on Telegram reported he was at a hotel in the Belarusian capital, Minsk. The Kremlin said it had made a deal for Prigozhin to move to Belarus and receive amnesty, along with his soldiers. We started our march because of an injustice, Prigozhin said in a recording that gave no details about where he is or what his future plans are.Ī feud between the Wagner Group leader and Russia's military brass that has festered throughout the war erupted into a mutiny that saw the mercenaries leave Ukraine to seize a military headquarters in a southern Russian city and roll seemingly unopposed for hundreds of miles toward Moscow, before turning around after less than 24 hours on Saturday. In an 11-minute audio statement, Yevgeny Prigozhin said he acted to prevent the destruction of the Wagner private military company and in response to an attack on a Wagner camp that killed some 30 fighters. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu made his first public appearance since the uprising that demanded his ouster, in a video aimed at projecting a sense of order after the country's most serious political crisis in decades. The leader of the Wagner mercenary group defended his short-lived insurrection in a boastful audio statement Monday, but uncertainty still swirled about his fate, as well as that of senior Russian military leaders, the impact on the war in Ukraine, and even the political future of President Vladimir Putin.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |