Prigozhin Armed Mutiny Attempt: What We Know So Far
18:59 GMT 23.06.2023 (Updated: 17:06 GMT 31.07.2023)
© Sputnik / Vitaliy Belousov
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Russian President Vladimir Putin is being regularly briefed about Wagner Boss Yevgeny Prigozhin’s armed coup attempt by the Ministry of Defense, the FSB, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the National Guard.
Russia's National Anti-Terrorism Committee said the FSB had opened a criminal case over "calling for an armed rebellion," and that allegations spread on behalf of Wagner chief Prigozhin were "unfounded."
"In connection with these statements, the FSB has opened a criminal case over calls for an armed rebellion. We demand that these illegal actions be stopped immediately," the committee said.
The Prosecutor General's Office confirmed that the case against Prigozhin had been launched, addressing it in an official statement:
"On June 23, 2023, the Investigative Department of the FSB of Russia has initiated a criminal case against Prigozhin E.V. under Article 279 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation on the fact of organizing an armed rebellion. His actions will be given a proper legal assessment. This crime is punishable by imprisonment for a term of 12 to 20 years"
Russian army general Sergey Surovikin called on Wagner troops to return to their bases and hold their positions.
"I have just come from the frontline, where our troops, our commanders, our soldiers, our fighters, volunteers are carrying out the task, fighting the enemy to the death, with the superior forces of the enemy, suffering losses, but standing on their positions. I appeal to the leadership, to the commanders and fighters of the Wagner PMC. Together with you we have passed a difficult, hard way, we have fought together, taken the risks, suffered losses, we have won together. We are the same blood, we are warriors. ️I call you to stop. The enemy is only waiting for our domestic political situation to deteriorate. We must not play into the hands of the enemy at this difficult time for the country. Before it is too late, we must do something - we must obey the will and order of the President of the Russian Federation, who was elected by the people, we must stop the columns, return them to their permanent bases and areas of concentration, and solve all the problems only peacefully, under the leadership of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation".
Meanwhile, Russia's Defense Ministry reported activity by Ukrainian forces:
"Taking advantage of Prigozhin's provocation to disrupt the situation, the Kiev regime is concentrating units of the 35th Marine Brigade and the 36th Mechanised Brigade of the AFU in Bakhmut tactical direction at the initial line for offensive actions. The servicemen of the Yug Group of Forces are defeating the enemy with air and artillery strikes," the ministry said.
Earlier in the day, footage and audio attributed to Wagner troops and Prigozhin surfaced online alleging that a "missile attack" had been launched at a Wagner camp, and that the strike was "delivered from the rear, that is by forces of the Russian Defense Ministry." The voice attributed to Prigozhin appeared to call for the ouster of the Defense Ministry's leadership. The footage and audio were immediately jumped on by Ukrainian and US state-funded media outlets, which have been reporting heavily on Prigozhin's criticism of Russian generals in recent weeks.
Russia's Defense Ministry addresed the claims, calling them fake:
"All the messages and videos distributed on social networks on behalf of [Wagner Head Yevgeny] Prigozhin about alleged ‘strike by Russian Defense Ministry on the rear camps of the Wagner PMC do not correspond to reality and are an informational provocation," the ministry said in a statement posted to its Telegram page Friday.
"The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue to carry out combat missions on the line of contact with the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the area of the special military operation," it added.
A video posted by Prigozhin purporting to show "the aftermath of the rocket strike on the Wagner rear camps" by the forces of Russian Defense Ministry was staged, Russia's Channel One said with its anchor Ekaterina Andreeva pointed out live on air 3 points that prove that the video of the aftermath of the alleged strike on the Wagner camp is staged:
The first indication, she said, is the lack of other video evidence.
The second is that statements on behalf of Prigozhin were distributed in the format of audio messages, whose metadata is the same - they were all recorded at the same time and published in delayed mode.
The third indication was that no more than 15 minutes had elapsed between the publication of the video of the alleged strikes and the first video of the statements, and it is doubtful that it is possible to collect all the reports from the field, analyse the consequences and record the messages in such a short time.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that President Putin has been "informed of all events around Prigozhin," and said that "necessary measures are being taken." The press secretary did not elaborate.
Russian regional authorities said that law-enforcement agencies were doing everything necessary to protect the general public. At the same time, they noted Ukraine was seeking to spread disinformation about the introduction of curfews.
Wagner units and Russian Army forces jointly took part in the battle of Artemovsk (Bakhumut), liberating the Donbass city in late May after eight months of heavy fighting which pinned down large concentrations of Ukrainian troops, allowed Russia to train up its mobilized reserves, and resulted in a major defeat for Kiev ahead of its now-stalled counteroffensive.
