Hostilities between the Russian military and Wagner Group, a private army, reached a crescendo on Saturday after the mercenary force vowed to topple President Vladimir Putin.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the group, and his men had been fighting alongside Russia in Ukraine — but he recalled his troops on Friday after accusing the Russian army of a rocket attack which allegedly killed scores of his men.
Reacting to the rebellion in a broadcast, Putin described Wagner as a “deadly threat to our state”, adding that actions taken by Russia to address the situation would be brutal.
Putin warned interested recruits, whom the Wagner leader said he was actively seeking, against joining the crusade, noting that they will be punished when caught.
A few hours later, Russian military helicopters opened fire on a Wagner convoy advancing past the city of Voronezh, more than halfway towards Moscow, the country’s capital.
Prigozhin had earlier said his militia was in control of Rostov-on-Don, a city of more than a million people close to the border with Ukraine.
‘WE ARE FIGHTING TO SAVE RUSSIA’
In response to Putin’s accusation of treason, Prigozhin said the president was “deeply mistaken”, adding that his militia was fighting to liberate Russia.
“Regarding the betrayal of the motherland, the president [Putin] was deeply mistaken. We are patriots of our motherland. We fought and are fighting, all the fighters of PMC Wagner, and no one is going to turn themselves in at the request of the president, the FSB or anyone else,” the Wagner leader said.
“When we were fighting in Africa, we were told we needed Africa, and after that, it was abandoned because they stole all the money that was supposed to help. When we were told that we were at war with Ukraine, we went and fought.
“But it turned out that ammunition, weapons, all the money that was put on them are also stolen, and officials are saving them for themselves, just for the case that came today when someone goes to Moscow.
Now they are not saving anything. They are hitting with planes and helicopters the columns where peaceful people are moving. They are hitting, because they are missing the targets, they are hitting wherever they can. We are patriots. And those who oppose us today are those who have gathered around the scum.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the rebellion has exposed Russia’s weakness, adding that the country would fall “very soon”.
Everyone who chooses the path of evil destroys himself. Who sends columns of troops to destroy the lives of another country and cannot stop them from fleeing and betraying when life resists. Who terrorizes with missiles, and when they are shot down, humiliates himself to receive.
