Russia-Ukraine War: There are fears all over Russia that a coup d’etat is being staged against Russian President Vladimir Putin by the Wagner mercenary group under the leadership of its chief Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Prigozhin, a former convict who rose from being a Kremlin caterer to becoming an important personality in Vladimir Putin’s inner circle – so much so that he earned the moniker ‘Putin’s Chef’ – and helped Russian military in central Africa and west Asia, is accusing the Russian military of killing his men.
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Even though there are fears of a coup to oust Putin, it must be noted that Prigozhin has not directly named Putin or even challenged him. At this point, it does seem he is angry with Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov.
Prigozhin said his forces shot down a Russian military helicopter. “A helicopter has just now opened fire at a civilian column. It has been shot down by units of PMC Wagner,” the Wagner chief said.
The claim could not be verified but the situation became tense soon after the man, who engineered French troop withdrawal from Mali, released a second message where he targeted the ‘evil’ military leadership.
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“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,” Prigozhin said in a series of audio messages on his official Telegram channel, according to MSNBC.
As of June 24, Prigozhin said the Russian army soldiers want to join Wagner. “Fights take place in those places where the military leadership gives false information to the fighters and therefore skirmishes occur,” he said.
“Where the soldiers meet us, the National Guard and the police, they wave their hands joyfully and many of them say: ‘We want to go with you.’ There are already 60-70 people who have joined us, although we still have come a short way. I think half the army is ready to go with us,” Prigozhin said, according to NEXTA.
Bakhmut Exposed Troubles
The ongoing battle for the salt-mining town of Bakhmut, which has turned into a shadow of itself due to bombing and missile and air strikes, exposed rifts between the Russian military and the Wagner paramilitary.
The Wagner paramilitary company is a private mercenary group which has helped Russian interests in Mali, Syria, Crimea, Mozambique, Madagascar, Sudan, Central African Republic and Ukraine.
They are made up of retired Russian Army officials, Russian secret service members, hardened convicts – including rapists and serial killers recruited from the countries where Wagner waged military operations.
Wagner was instrumental in the capturing of vast swathes of Bakhmut and maintaining Russian positions in eastern Ukraine but there were troubles between the Russian military and the private military group.
Prigozhin accused Russia’s defence minister and chief of general staff of starving his fighters in Ukraine of ammunition earlier in February when the battle for Bakhmut was in its initial phases.
“There is just direct opposition going on, which is nothing less than an attempt to destroy Wagner. This can be equated to high treason in the very moment when Wagner is fighting for Bakhmut, losing hundreds of its fighters every day,” Prigozhin said in February.
When faced with some losses in Bakhmut earlier in June, Wagner waged a public feud with Shoigu and Gerasimov. “Now part of the settlement of Berkhivka has already been lost, the troops are quietly running away. Disgrace! The Ministry of Defence’s main goal is to pretend that everything is ok and that we are advancing. In reality, what is happening now … will result in significant tactical defeats in two weeks’ time,” Prigozhin said.
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