Overnight, extraordinary developments took place inside Russia, leading many to conclude an actual Civil War is erupting there. A Military Base and one Headquarters are now under control of Wagner PMC and no one is sure if they have access to nukes. US/NATO may strike Russia with a nuclear first strike if control of Russian nukes is questionable.
This morning troops are on the streets of Moscow while Russian Air Force planes and helicopters began BOMBING vehicle convoys of Wagner PMC on the M24 Highway inside Russia!
President Putin made an extraordinary address to the nation overnight, calling these events "Treason" and "Mutiny" saying the participants will be punished most severely.
Full details coming shortly . . .
UPDATE
Last night, Wagner Private Military Company (PMC) made known through social media video that days ago, the Russian Army (or Air Force) had attacked Wagner PMC camps inside Ukraine. Yevgeny Prigozhin, who runs Wagner PMC claimed many of his troops were killed and many others injured in those strikes.
Prigozhin, announced that a Wagner military base has been ATTACKED by the ARMY! Saying, the Army “launched rocket attacks on our rear camps. A huge number of soldiers died. We will decide how we will respond to this atrocity. The next step is ours."
Prigozhin said A MILITARY COUP MAY START IN RUSSIA . “The evil that the military leadership of Russia must be stopped. I ask no one to resist! Anyone who tries to resist - we will destroy. Justice for the troops will be restored, and after that, justice for all of Russia.” he continued.
He stated that Minister of Defense, Shoigu, runs away “like a grandmother. This animal must be stopped.”
Strelkov (Girkin), who lead the 2014 invasion of Ukraine says “A military coup attempt has begun.” Prigozhin says, “We are 25,000 strong and we are going to figure out why chaos is happening in Russia. Anyone who wants to join - join! We must end this disgrace.”
He then claimed this attack on Wagner PMC was done on purpose by the Russian Ministry of Defense and he was going to Moscow with twenty-five thousand of his Wagner PMC troops to remove the top Generals inside the Russian Ministry of Defense. Defense Minister Shoigu, said Prigozhin, "would hang in Red Square."
72 hours ago, the Russian FSB and other intelligence apparatus inside Russia, got word of a pending uprising, and placed numerous agencies in Moscow on alert.
As part of his intent to travel to Moscow, Prigozhin mustered his men into convoys inside Ukraine, and headed toward the Russian Border crossing at Rostov-on-Don, Russia. Border Guards were INITIALLY ordered to close the border, but Prigozhin's convoys WERE ALLOWED TO COME INTO RUSSIA ANYWAY. This seemed worrisome at first because it would indicate widespread support for Prigozhin, but it turned out that Russian FSB gave the Order to ALLOW the convoys into Russia.
Prigozhin's convoys made rapid progress into Rostov, and took control of the Southern Military District Headquarters building in Rostov. Below, Wagner PMC Troops begin deploying around Southern Military Headquarters Building:
Overnight, Russia's Special Rapid Response Unit (SOBR) was reportedly on its way to Belgorod to arrest or kill Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner Group, due to an "armed rebellion."
This morning, Russian attack helicopters engaged Wagner PMC Convoys on the M24 highway and began BOMBING them. Here is video from social media:
Russian President Vladimir Putin took to national television overnight to address the nation. He told the Russian people that this is Treason and armed mutiny. He said Russia is fighting for its Sovereignty and for its values, and what Wagner PMC is doing is a "lethal threat" to Russia. He said the participants would be dealt with severely.
At about 6:00 AM this morning, word reached us here in America that Prignozhin forces of Wagner PMC had captured a military airfield in Voronezh region past Buturlinovka. Here are photos from the base Prignozhin now controls:
Wagner used a Pantsir S1 SAMs to down a Russian military AN-24 transport plane killing all soldiers onboard less than an hour ago. Here is video of THAT troop-transport aircraft being shot down:
It is not yet known publicly if this base is equipped with nuclear weapons. It is already known that if the base DOES have such weapons, the United States and NATO may conduct a nuclear first-strike to keep those weapons out of Prigozhin's hands.
In related news, Belarus President Lukaschenko'[s family jet flew from Belarus to Turkey late last night; departing Minsk at 12:01 AM local time. It is not known if Lukaschenko himself was on that plane or just his family. This begs the additional question: Who is in control of the Russian Tactical nuclear bombs moved to Belarus just last week. If that question is not answered promptly, it is possible there could be a US/NATO nuclear first-strike against Belarus to resolve that question as well.
The situation is deteriorating VERY rapidly.
Prigozhin's forces successfully passed Voronezh and are moving through the territory of the Lipetsk region. They boast that they shot down the front posts of "Rosguard" and took the trophies - Igor Strelkov (Girkin) "Guys, don't stop."
Russian military say that if the Wagner PMC continues its movement, the Russian Armed Forces will blow up three bridges across the Oka River to protect Moscow.
RT correspondent Kosarev reports an explosion near the headquarters of the Southern Military District in Rostov.
Second explosion reported
PMC "Wagner" requires people to move at least two kilometers away from the building of the headquarters of the Southern Military District
Internet services may be restricted in Moscow and other regions where a counter-terrorist regime has been declared - RIA
MORE:
Governor of Russia's Lipetsk region, north of Voronezh, urges people to stay at home
9:03 AM EDT -- Russian Armed Forces in St. Petersburg raised to COMBAT ALERT. Not certain if this is over Prigozhin or NATO.
Prigozhin says his forces have been fired on by artillery, helicopters.
Russian soldiers have set up a machine gun position on the southwestern edge of Moscow.
The advanced military units of Wagner are already in the Lipetsk region, it is 3 hours from Moscow. The Russian Ministry of Defense with the help of aviation shoots a moving military convoy. Prigozhin's troops shoot down planes and helicopters of the Russian armed forces. Moscow has dug trenches on the outskirts of the city and is preparing for hostilities today or tomorrow.
Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of the Russian RT channel: "There is no doubt that Prigozhin's rebellion is coordinated and directed by the secret services of the United States, Great Britain, and perhaps also one country in the Middle East" (such as Israel or Turkey).
No one is (yet) saying the quiet part out loud: Earlier this week, the Pentagon announced a $6 BILLION "Accounting error" in the valuation of equipment sent to Ukraine, which then freed-up $6 Billion for other purposes. Just days after the Pentagon announced that, Prigozhin, a For-Hire Private Military Contractor, makes his move against his own country, Russia. Did the Pentagon pay-off Prigozhin with that $6 Billion?????
ELIZABETH HAIGH and WILL STEWART and MIRIAM KUEPPER
Russia's Wagner militia forces are headed towards Moscow on Saturday after chief Yevgney Prigozhin initiated a military coup against Putin and his regime, which has seen the group take key cities and mock the President, who called them 'traitors'.
Putin addressed the Russian people on Saturday, warning that the military leader had 'stabbed him in the back', as Moscow is on lockdown as troops dig in in preparation to defend the city.
Prigozhin and his feared 25,000-strong Wagner militia have control of the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, saying they are 'ready to die' as they vow revenge for a military strike from Putin's forces that the mercenary leader says killed some of his men.
The unit passed through the halfway city of Voronezh and have reached as far north as Yelets as they advance on Moscow, seeing negligible resistance. A huge oil depot was seen bursting into flames in the city, with a helicopter in the air at the time.
Footage on social media has shown large convoys of troops heading north from Voronezh, thought to be Wagner mercenaries. They are also said to be on their way to other key cities including Krasnodar and Volgograd.
Russia has responded by increasing security in Moscow, mobilising troops who are set to defend against the incursion, and calling for the military to rally around President Putin.
A message posted on the Wagner Telegram channel on Saturday said: 'Putin made the wrong choice. All the worse for him. Soon we will have a new president.'
Prigozhin, who was once a confidant of Vladimir Putin before declaring war on Moscow's military leadership last night, said in a video that the highest ranking officer at the command post had fled as soon as he learned that Wagner forces were approaching.
A Russian security source said Wagner fighters had also taken control of military facilities in the city of Voronezh, about 500 km (310 miles) south of Moscow.
This would be significant as it marks the halfway point between Rostov and Moscow.
The governor of Russia's Voronezh region said on Saturday that the army was taking 'necessary military measures' in the region as part of a counter-terrorist operation declared after an armed mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group.
It is also being claimed that Wagner troops are on the outskirts of two other southern cities, Krasnodar and Volgograd - but this has not been verified.
Pro-Putin forces on the outskirts of Moscow were meanwhile seen digging in against the Wagner coup army heading towards the capital.
Russian troops were pictured establishing positions at a bridge across the Oka River. They deployed barrage equipment, machine guns and grenade launchers.
Other photos showed soldiers setting up barricades and machine gun nests a little way out of the city, as Putin signed into law a measure which allows people to be detained for up to 30 days in areas where marshal is imposed - not that this has yet happened.
Eyewitnesses have reported air strikes on the Wagner convoy heading north.
Shortly after this emerged, Prigozhin claimed it was hit by Russian strikes and fire from helicopters.
'We were fired upon: first artillery strikes, and then from helicopters,' Prigozhin said in a Telegram post. Video footage online purports to show an artillery strike on an armoured vehicle in the Wagner procession.
They have also raided the Wagner unit's HQ in St Petersburg, after Prigozhin captured the Southern Defense Command in Rostov-on-Don, which plays a major role in the invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian Security Service said it had found $47 million in cash on the premises, which Prigozhin claimed is for salaries and other expenses for his men.
We will defend our country from treason – Putin
RT
The attempted insurrection by the chief of the Wagner private military company, Evgeny Prigozhin, amounts to a betrayal of Russia and its people, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an address to the nation on Saturday morning. He also vowed that the country’s law enforcement agencies will take decisive actions to restore order.
In a televised speech, Putin appealed to Russian service members and those “who have been drawn into this criminal gamble by deceit or threats,”without naming Prigozhin in particular.
He noted that Moscow is engaged in a historic struggle to safeguard its future while “repelling aggression from neo-Nazis and their masters” in the West.
“We are fighting for the lives and safety of our people, for our sovereignty and independence. For the right to be and remain Russia,” the president said, urging fellow citizens to join forces and put aside all the divisions that could be exploited by foreign adversaries.
Against this backdrop, Russia’s Armed Forces and other government agencies have received the necessary orders, Putin said, also pointing out that antiterrorist measures have been introduced in Moscow, Moscow Region, and a number of other areas.
He also noted that “decisive actions will be taken to stabilize the situation in Rostov-on-Don,” in southern Russia. Earlier in the day, several media outlets shared clips of tanks moving around the city, with unidentified soldiers patrolling the streets.
The Russian president also urged those being drawn into the insurrection to “make the only right choice and stop taking part in criminal actions.”
On Friday, Prigozhin accused the Russian Defense Ministry of launching a deadly missile strike on a Wagner Group camp, vowing retaliation. The ministry, however, dismissed the allegation, describing it as “an information provocation.”
The Russian authorities later said that they had opened a criminal investigation into the Wagner chief for allegedly calling for an armed rebellion.
Putin Is Paying the Price of His Never-ending War
Putin is responsible for this, because he has let a conflict continue for 16 months that should have ended in one week. But Putin wanted to avoid being labeled an aggressor and confined combat to the Russian Donbass. He got the label regardless, and created a situation of an ever-widening war that he has been fighting with a private military group who are tired of the no-win situation Putin has created by his pretense that it is a “limited military operation.”
Key points of Putin’s address to nation over PMC Wagner coup attempt
In his address, Putin clearly labelled the PMC coup attempt as a “betrayal.” He cited “enormous ambitions and personal interests” of certain individuals as the reasons behind this “betrayal of their country and its people.” He went on to accuse those responsible, without naming Prigozhin in particular, of turning their back on the joint military cause in Ukraine and the memory of the fallen fighters.
If successful, the coup would lead to “anarchy and fratricide,” resulting, in the long run, in Russia’s “defeat” and “capitulation,” according to Putin.
The president characterized “any internal mutiny” as a death threat to the Russian state and nation. The president pledged to take “tough measures” against the mutineers, who have “willingly entered the path of betrayal” and prepared “armed insurrection.”
“All the necessary orders have been issued to the armed forces and other authorities,” Putin revealed. He added that a special anti-terrorist security protocol had been enacted in Moscow, Moscow Region and several other locations.
The Russian president acknowledged that the situation in Rostov-on-Don, southern Russia, remains “difficult,” with the functioning of local civil and military authorities being “effectively blocked.” However, the state will take “decisive actions to stabilize” the situation in the city.
Concluding his address to the nation, President Putin promised to do everything he could to defend the “country, [and] defend the constitutional order, life, security and liberty of citizens.”
Wagner forces are on their way north
Russia coup latest: Kremlin denies Putin has fled Moscow
Wagner: Military Installations In Rostov Are Under Our Control
Wagner coup prepares to seize nuclear weapons depots – partisan movement
No comments:
Post a Comment