Fighters with the private military contractor allegedly entered the city of Rostov-on-Don as Prigozhin promises “march for justice.”
Yevgenzy Prigozhin, the head of the Kremlin-aligned Wagner Group, said that his fighters have crossed into Russia from Ukraine as part of a mission to topple the heads of the Russian military. Prigozhin denies he’s carrying out a coup, but instead vowed a “march for justice” in response to an alleged attack on his mercenary force. Now Russian leaders are calling for his arrest, while Wagner fights have allegedly entered the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don.
The situation started on Friday, June 23 when Prigozhin posted on social media, claiming that the Russian military launched a missile at his contractors. The attack, he said, was ordered by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Gen. Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the General Staff. The Russian Ministry of Defense denied any such action, but Prigozhin has stood with his claim, promising to go “all the way” against Gerasimov and Shoigu. In response, the Russian security service the FSB has accused Prigozhin of “armed rebellion” and is calling for his arrest.
The oligarch and Wagner leader said that he has 25,000 fighters ready for the fight, and promised to topple his enemies in the Russian military, who he has repeatedly accused of mismanaging the war in Ukraine over recent months.
“Those who killed our lads, and tens of thousands of lives of Russian soldiers [in the war in Ukraine] will be punished,” Prigozhin said in an audio post in one of several messages on Telegram in the last day.
Overnight Prigozhin claimed that Wagner “columns” had crossed into Russia, and shot down a Russian helicopter that attacked civilians.
