Russia-Ukraine War: Amid the ongoing war between Russia-Ukraine, a big statement from Russian President Vladimir Putin has come to the fore on Saturday. Putin said in a televised address on Saturday that anyone who takes up arms against the military is a traitor. Putin was addressing the nation after the Wagner Group’s action in Rostov City.
Putin said the “armed rebellion” by the Wagner Group’s private army was treason, and that anyone who took up arms against the Russian military would be punished. He said that some Russians have been tricked into participating in criminal activities.
Russia’s Future at Stake: Putin
The Russian President said that the future of Russia is at stake. He termed the activities of the rebels as ‘stabbing in the back’. In his address, without naming the boss of Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigogine, he said that the high ambitions of some people have done a great betrayal. Putin said that those who are trying to divide the Russian society. They will not be spared.
He also said that the anti-terrorist system has been implemented in the capital Moscow and many other places. Putin promised to protect Russia and said that all necessary orders have been issued to deal with this crisis. Yevgeny Prigogine, the head of Russia’s private army group Wagner, has said he will “end up only by overthrowing Russia’s military leadership”.
Ready to go to any extent against Moscow’s army: Prigogine
A Russian security source told Reuters on Saturday that Wagner’s fighters had taken control of all military facilities in the city of Voronezh, some 500 km (310 miles) south of Moscow. While Prigozhin previously denied allegations of an attempted military coup, he claimed on Saturday that his Wagner fighters had crossed the border from Ukraine to Russia and were prepared to go “to all lengths” against Moscow’s forces.
Meanwhile, according to reports from Russia, Yevgeny Prigogine has taken control of the Russian army’s southern headquarters in the city of Rostov-on-Don. In one video, Yevgeny Prigozhin is seen entering the headquarters and shaking hands with military commanders stationed here. In a video, Yevgeny Prigogine said that if Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and General Valery Gerasimov do not reach to meet him, he will move towards Moscow.
Yevgeny Prigogine said, “We have reached here. We want to meet the army chief and Shoigu here. Until he arrives, we will stay here, lay siege to the city of Rostov, and then move on to Moscow.” Meanwhile, the important highway M4 connecting Moscow with the southern provinces has been closed. The governor of Lipetsk province has confirmed this. The M4 highway connects Rostov and Moscow.
Prigogine had previously said without providing evidence that Russia’s military leadership had killed a large number of its soldiers in airstrikes and vowed to punish them, Reuters news agency reported.
Know what is Russia’s ‘private army’ Wagner?
The ‘Wagner Group’ is called Russia’s private army. Or it can be called an army of private fighters, which is fighting together with the Russian army in the Ukraine war. Tensions were rising between the Wagner group and the Russian military over the way the war was to be fought. Meanwhile, Yevgeny Prigozhin was becoming increasingly aggressive towards Russian military commanders. On Friday, 62-year-old Yevgeny Prigogine accused Russia’s military of launching a missile attack targeting its fighters. However, he did not present its evidence. Its chief is Yevgeny Prigogine.
