Putin charges Wagner Group CEO Yevgeny Prigozhin of treason,The administration has accused Prigozhin, the CEO of the Wagner Group private military organization, of launching an armed insurgency.
The allegations were brought late Friday night after Prigozhin accused Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu and Russian General Staff Chair General Valery Gerasimov of severe offenses.
Prigozhin claimed to have directed the movement of forces loyal to him towards Rostov-on-Don, a significant city in southern Russia. Moscow’s security has apparently been tightened up as well.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the Wagner mercenary group’s leader of treason and inciting a “armed mutiny.”
He said his former ally Yevgeny Prigozhin’s activities in launching a mutiny to depose Russia’s defense minister were a “stab in the back” to the country’s soldiers and citizens.
The Russian leader had previously tolerated the man dubbed “Putin’s chef” because catering enterprises he owned delivered food to the Kremlin, but his tolerance has finally run out in the face of the current situation.
The upheaval erupted after Prigozhin stated that he and his soldiers had arrived in Rostov-on-Don after crossing the Russian border from Ukraine and taken control of important installations, including the airfield.
The city is home to the Russian military command, which oversees activities in Ukraine.
According to the Kremlin, the mercenary group has also taken military sites in Voronezh, around 310 miles (500 kilometers) south of Moscow.
Prigozhin has pledged to “demolish anyone who gets in our way.”
“This is not an armed rebellion, but rather a march of justice,” he explained.
