Russian security services open criminal case into Wagner chief for urging armed munity
Russia’s security service has opened a criminal case into mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin after he accused the military of killing 2,000 of his troops with a missile strike.
The Wagner Group founder, who has grown increasingly hostile to Moscow over recent months, claimed that a “huge number” of his fighters had been killed in the attack, vowing to stop the “evil” military leadership.
The Kremlin denied the strike took place and demanded Prigozhin halt “illegal actions”.
Russia’s TASS news agency said on Friday that the FSB security service has opened a criminal investigation into Prigozhin for calling for armed mutiny, citing the National Antiterrorism Committee.
President Vladimir Putin has been briefed on the developments and “necessary measures are being taken”, Interfax news agency said, citing Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
The standoff, many of the details of which remain unclear, represents the most significant domestic crisis Vladmir Putin has faced since he launched the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
In a series of audio messages on his official Telegram channel, Prigozhin said: “Those who destroyed our lads, who destroyed the lives of many tens of thousands of Russian soldiers, will be punished. I ask that no one offer resistance.”
He said details of what had occurred were just emerging, but added: “The Minister of Defence arrived specially in Rostov to carry out an operation to destroy the Wagner PMC (private military company).”
An unverified video posted on the “Razgruzka Wagner” (Wagner’s Combat Vest) Telegram channel showed a scene in a forest where small fires were burning and trees appeared to have been broken by force.
It carried the caption: “A missile attack was launched on the camps of PMC Wagner. Many victims. According to eyewitnesses, the strike was delivered from the rear, that is, it was delivered by the military of the Russian Ministry of Defence.”
Prigozhin vowed to avenge the incident: “There are 25,000 of us and we are going to figure out why chaos is happening in the country.”
But he also added: “This is not a military coup.”
Earlier on Friday, Prigozhin appeared to cross a new line in his increasingly bitter feud with Moscow, claiming that the Kremlin’s rationale for invading Ukraine was based on lies made up by the army’s top brass.
Prigozhin has for months been openly accusing Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Russia’s top general, Valery Gerasimov, of rank incompetence.
But on Friday he for the first time dismissed Russia’s core justifications for invading Ukraine last year in what it calls a “special military operation”.
“The war was needed … so that [Defence Minister Sergei] Shoigu could become a marshal … so that he could get a second ‘Hero’ [of Russia] medal,” Prigozhin said in another audio message. “The war wasn’t needed to demilitarise or denazify Ukraine.”
Last week, Prigozhin reiterated a refusal to sign a contract with the Russian state, despite Vladimir Putin insisting that private companies must comply with the order.
Mr Prigozhin has taken regular shots at senior defence ministry officials, such as Mr Shoigu and his chief of general staff, Valery Gerasimov – at one stage calling for them to be publicly executed in Moscow’s Red Square – as the rift became increasingly bitter and public.
The catering entrepreneur-turned-warlord has remained deferential towards President Putin, but there are indications that is changing, a change that could be accelerated by the demand that Wagner regularise its status within the Russian military.
Russian law does not allow private militias to fight for the country, and the Kremlin previously denied association with Wagner during combat missions in Syria, Mali, and the Central African Republic.
This changed with the invasion of Ukraine as the group demonstrated its value while the Russian army floundered, achieving some of the most significant Russian gains. Mr Prigozhin was awarded military honours last year.
Wagner played a leading role in the seizure of Bakhmut in May, a small eastern city that saw intense fighting and significant losses for both sides.
