Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner mercenary group that staged a brief uprising against Russia’s military command over the weekend, broke a long period of silence on Monday. to deny, again, that he intended to seize power by his march on Moscow.
“We have come to protest, not to overthrow the government in the country,” he said in an 11-minute stream of consciousness voice memo posted on messaging app Telegram. The statement reiterated his harsh criticism of Russia’s military leadership, both for what he claimed was the poor treatment of its fighters and its handling of the invasion of Ukraine.
Prigozhin said the protest was aimed at a move by the Defense Ministry to force his mercenaries to sign a contract with the government, which he said would effectively prevent Wagner’s activities in Ukraine since July 1. Mr. Prigozhin said the militants, planned to give up their heavy weapons to the Russian Army until they were attacked from behind on Friday night, killing at least 30 soldiers. Dr. Wagner – a claim without independent evidence.
That’s when, he said, he decided to send a group of fighters to capture the city of Rostov-on-Don, the headquarters of Russia’s southern command about 60 miles from the border with Ukraine, and another group to Moscow to show express their anger. .
“The aim of the campaign is to stop the destruction of Wagner PMC and bring to justice those who, due to their unprofessional actions, have made countless mistakes in the process,” he said, alluding to the leader. Department of Defense.
Founder Wagner has spent months attacking Russia’s military leadership, whom Prigozhin has long hated and accused of mismanaging the war effort. In Telegram posts that mix self-aggrandizing statements and vulgar complaints, he accused military leaders of failing to provide ammunition to his fighters even as they were engaged in one of the bloodiest battles of the war, taking over the ruined city of Bakhmut. .
But Mr Prigozhin has not been heard since he called off his mutiny on Saturday, adding to confusion around an episode that has challenged Russia’s façade of political stability. Hours after Russian President Vladimir V. Putin branded him a traitor and vowed to hold him accountable, Prigozhin halted his advance to Moscow and agreed to withdraw from Rostov-on-Don under an agreement. agreed to drop the investigation into him and allow him to go to Belarus.
Some analysts see his voice recordings as a sign that he wants to stay active in political and military affairs. In it, Mr Prigozhin praised his fighters, saying they had shown professionalism and given the Russian public a “master class” on how the invasion of Ukraine should have started in June. last year. He claimed that, if Wagner was responsible, the accomplishment of Russia’s military goals would take only “a few days”.
Although the Kremlin on Saturday said the agreement to end hostilities – which Prigozhin again said he accepted to avoid bloodshed – would drop the case against him, there were signs on Monday that Mr. Prigozhin could still face charges.
According to Russian media reports published on Monday, the criminal case against Mr. Prigozhin remains open and the charges against him have not been dropped. Kommersant, a Russian newspaper, and the country’s three main news agencies — Tass, RIA and Interfax — both report that the Federal Security Service, or FSB, is continuing to investigate.
The publications, all state-controlled or linked to the Kremlin, cite anonymous sources, so their reports cannot be independently verified. If the proceedings continue, Mr. Prigozhin could face up to 20 years in prison.
Even when the case was dropped, critics of the Belarusian president, Aleksandr G. Lukashenko, raised doubts about whether Mr. Prigozhin was safe there, given the government’s close ties to the government. Mr. Putin, who was an important source of support for Mr. Lukashenko.
Mr Prigozhin was last seen in public late on Saturday, smiling and shaking hands with supporters as he left the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don after he called for an end to the uprising. his brief rise and return to the troop he had sent on a march to Moscow.
Since then, his location has not been known. On Sunday evening, Mr Prigozhin’s press service told RTVI, a Russian TV channel, that he “hello everyone and will answer questions” when the phone was getting good reception.
Despite the gravity of Prigozhin’s actions over the weekend, some Russian officials have been reluctant to criticize the Wagner fighters, who have proven themselves to be effective, if brutal, when fought on behalf of Russia in Ukraine and in other conflicts.
Andrei Kartapolov, chairman of Russia’s parliament’s defense committee, said on Sunday that Wagner fighters occupying the military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don “did not do anything reprehensible” and simply “followed it.” their orders”.
“They don’t offend anyone, they don’t break anything,” he said. “No one has the slightest complaint against them — neither residents of Rostov, servicemen of the Southern Military District, nor law enforcement agencies.”
