Wagner Group mutiny near Ukrainian front

The commander of the private army called the Wagner Group is making a mutiny against the Kremlin. Multiple reports on at least three Telegram channels have photos and video of the alleged action. This morning The New York Times’ “Morning” newsletter appears to confirm it.

The Wagner Group mutiny

Reports, some seemingly first-hand, are coming in minutes apart from Telegram channels like Intel Slava Z, Intel Republic, and Middle East Spectator. In addition, John Dover at Defiant America filed this report.

Apparently elements of the Wagner Group, a mercenary army, withdrew from the Ukrainian front and started toward Moscow.

The Telegram and other reports suggest they have taken over the city of Rostov-on-Don. Photos and video show Wagner Group soldiers occupying the military headquarters in that city.

Early in the afternoon (Russia Time) someone – maybe Wagnerites – set off a bomb in the city streets. A crowd of onlookers and reporters ran away in a panicked rush when they heard it.

The Russia National Guard has set up a roadblock with anti-tank goads on the southern entrance to Moscow. Middle East Spectator mentions “machine-gun pits” and “foxholes,” and have a photo of National Guardsmen building a barricade with sandbags. Moscow’s Mayor announced an “anti-terrorist operation regime,” likely meaning martial law, in the city.

Elsewhere, elements of the Russian Aerospace Forces struck a Wagner Group column on a bridge on the M4 highway. And elements of the Chechen Akhmat force are on their way to Rostov to attack the Wagnerites there.

An unconfirmed report states that FSB agents have arrested the Intel Slava Z chief in St. Petersburg. Authorities have definitely entered and searched the Wagner Group offices in that city.

If this development is accurate, Wagner might be winning.

Declarations

Intel Slava Z accuses Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine, of “supporting”: the Wagner Group mutiny. Intel Republic says the same, pointing out that the Wagner Group until recently had inflicted heavy casualties on Ukraine. Specifically they did this at Bakhmut, which fell to Russia last month.

Dmitriy Medvedev, Vladimir Putin’s chief deputy and spokesman, posted this to his Telegram channel:

Now the most important thing for the victory over the external and internal enemy, hungry to tear apart our Homeland, for the salvation of our state is to rally around the President, the Supreme Commander of the armed forces of the country. Schism and betrayal are the path to the greatest tragedy, a universal catastrophe. We will not allow it. The enemy will be defeated! Victory will be ours!

Vladimir Putin delivered a long speech in response to the crisis. Here are some excerpts:

• Russia today is fighting an uphill battle for its future, reflecting the aggression of neo-Nazis and their masters. Virtually the entire military, economic, and information machine of the West is directed against us. We are fighting for the life and safety of our people, for our sovereignty and independence. For the right to be and remain Russia – a state with a thousand-year history.

• This battle, when the fate of our people is being decided, requires the unity of all forces, unity, consolidation and responsibility. When everything that weakens us should be thrown aside, any strife that our external enemies can and are using to undermine us from within.

• What we are facing is precisely betrayal. Excessive ambitions and personal interests led to treason. To treason both to their country and to their people, and to the cause for which the fighters and commanders of the Wagner group fought and died side by side with our other units and divisions.

• Any internal turmoil is a deadly threat to our statehood, to us as a nation. This is a blow to Russia, to our people. And our actions to protect the Fatherland from such a threat will be tough. All those who deliberately embarked on the path of betrayal, who prepared an armed rebellion, embarked on the path of blackmail and terrorist methods, will be inevitably punished, will answer both before the law and before our people.

• The one who organized and prepared a military mutiny, who took up arms against his comrades – betrayed Russia. And they will answer for it. And I urge those who are being dragged into this crime not to make a fatal and tragic, unique mistake, to make the only right choice – to stop participating in criminal actions.

Putin has received statements of support from leaders of the newly annexed territories – Lughansk, Donbass, Zaparodzhe, and Kherzon. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has also expressed support for Purin.

Middle East Spectator analyzed the situation and the relative strengths of the Wagner Group and the Russian National Guard:

What is really important to understand right now is that Wagner is very experienced, and the Russian national guard is definitely not.

Wagner just came from the front, they just came from the “meatgrinder” at Bakhmut, they’re used to getting shelled, fired at by helis, and anything else you can imagine.

They do this on a daily basis, and they don’t see the advance on Moscow as any different than their daily job.

But the Russian national guard (Rosgvardia) has not experienced anything even remotely like that, they are mostly lightly trained units with barely any experience in the field.

Even though Rosgvardia has a big advantage on paper, they simply don’t know how or where to even start fighting against Wagner.

This story is still developing and is the most serious threat Russia has faced arguably since World War Two.