Putin In Dilemma, As Wagner Takes Over Military Facility In Rostov
*Putin insists the action is treason, a stab on the back to be death with decisively.
Head of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, that he has seized and taken over a key army facility in Rostov-on-Don after crossing the border from Ukraine, threatening to invade Moscow if the defense minister is not removed.
Prigozhin, who has been calling for rebellion against Russia’s Defense minister, Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu, made the disclosure Saturday morning.
The Wagner head made the stunning announcement in a video he posted at the Rostov-on-Don Russian Military headquarters, the facility overseeing the war in Ukraine.
Reuters reports that he also had other videos in the social media showing military vehicles, including tanks, on the streets outside.
According to Prigozhin, Wagner forces entered Russia from Ukraine, reaching Rostov without any resistance from young conscripts at checkpoints, insisting that his men “aren’t fighting against children.”
He noted however, that his forces will not take it lightly with anyone who stand in their way.
“But we will destroy anyone who stands in our way,” he said in one of a series of angry video and audio recordings posted on social media beginning late Friday. “We are moving forward and will go until the end.”
Meanwhile, the country security services responded by calling for his arrest, an indication that Moscow is not taking the threat lightly. Reports say security has been tightened in Moscow and in Rostov-on-Don with Prigozhin alleging that the chief of the General Staff, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, has scrambled warplanes apparently to neutralize his group’s convoys driving alongside ordinary vehicles.
Prigozhin, who said he is rebelling against the Russian Defense chief for ordering the killing of his men with rockets, helicopter gunship and artillery fire, alleged that Wagner forces has already downed a military helicopter that fired on a civilian convoy.
Meanwhile, President Vladimir Putin has described Prigozhin's action as treason, calling it a stab in the back against our nation which he vowed to defend.
Putin, who admitted that the situation in Rostov-on-Don is complicated, vowed however, that the rebellion will be crushed.
According to him, those responsible for the Rostov uprising will definitely be held responsible.
The development is coming on the heels of Ukraine's counter offensive, a development that is more of a plus to the effort.
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