Wagner group attempts coup in Russia

The Kremlin has accused the leader of the Wagner mercenary group of attempting an “armed coup” against Russia.

In an extraordinary announcement on Friday night, Yevgeny Prigozhin called for an uprising against Russia’s military leaders.

The Wagner boss claimed his troops have marched into Russia’s Rostov region and promised that his soldiers would “destroy everything that gets in the way”.

On Friday night, Wagner chief Prigozhin called for a rebellion against the Russian military.

He claimed that Russian generals had ordered an airstrike on his fighters in Ukraine and claimed a “huge number” had been killed, though he provided no evidence.

In a Telegram message he promised to “go to the end” to stop the Russian leadership’s “evil”.

Prigozhin said he had 25,000 fighters ready to battle the Russian army and called on regular Russian soldiers, including the National Guard, to join his coup attempt. 

He called the move a “march for justice” against the Russian military leadership — but, importantly, not against Vladimir Putin.

Prigozhin insisted the action was “not a military coup” and does not “interfere with the troops in any way”. Instead, he said he is targeting Russia’s top brass, including Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu.

Prigozhin said: “We don’t fight children. Shoigu kills children. He put 18-year-old boys against us. These guys will live and go back to their mothers. But we will destroy everything that gets in the way.”

How has Russia responded?

Russian troops were put on high alert across the country.

The Russian army deployed forces at key sites in Moscow and Rostov and there were unconfirmed reports of dozens of Russian aircraft flying towards Rostov.

The Kremlin’s security service, the FSB, opened a criminal case against Prigozhin and declared him to be a “foreign agent”.

The case accuses the Wagner boss of launching an “armed rebellion inside Russia” and said his actions were “a stab in the back to Russian servicemen fighting pro-fascist Ukrainian forces”.

They said Prigozhin is trying to start a “civil conflict” and officials called on Wagner group members to arrest him.

Gen Vladimir Alekseyev, the deputy head of Russia’s military intelligence agency, urged Prigozhin’s fighters not to join a rebellion, while the deputy commander of Russia’s Ukraine campaign, General Sergey Surovikin, ordered Wagner troops to stand down.

On Saturday morning, Rostov’s governor told residents to remain calm and stay indoors.

What is happening on the ground?

In an audio message late on Friday night Prigozhin claimed his troops are entering Rostov, though this has not been independently verified.

He also claimed that his soldiers shot down a Russian helicopter after it opened fire on civilians. This has also not been confirmed but residents in Rostov reported on Friday that military helicopters were flying over the city.

Videos posted on Russian Telegram channels early on Saturday appeared to show armed men in uniform skirting Rostov-on-Don’s regional police headquarters.

Yevgeny Prigozhin said 60 to 70 Russian soldiers have mutinied and joined his coup attempt and he claimed skirmished have taken place between Wagner fighter and Russian troops, though this has not been confirmed.

He also said his troops will take control of Rostov-on-Don and blockade the city.

On Saturday morning officials in Russia’s Voronezh region urged residents to avoid the M4 north-south motorway that connects Moscow to southern regions because a military convoy was on the move there.