The head of the Russian Wagner mercenary unit, Yevgeny Prigozhin, denied in his first speech after the unsuccessful uprising at the weekend that he had sought a change of power in Moscow. “We went to protest, not to overthrow the country’s authorities,” the 62-year-old said in a voicemail distributed by his Telegram press office on Monday. He did not provide information about his current whereabouts.
According to Prigozhin, the uprising revealed “serious security problems” in Russia. The month-long power struggle between the head of the mercenary force and the Russian military leadership intensified late on Friday. Wagner’s fighters invaded Russia from Ukraine – Prigozhin said the aim was to overthrow the military leadership in Moscow. In Rostov-on-Don, in the south of Russia, troops occupied the headquarters of the Russian army.
moved 780 kilometers inland
After about 24 hours of uprising, he surprisingly turned on Saturday night and ordered his mercenaries back to their camps. According to the Kremlin, he and his mercenaries should go unpunished and Prigozhin should go into exile in Belarus. However, the Russian prosecution said on Monday that Prigozhin would be investigated.
Wagner’s boss now said in his audio message that his troop’s military column had advanced 780 kilometers into Russia and reached about 200 kilometers from Moscow. The mercenaries “locked down all military infrastructure”, including air bases along the route. “The march highlighted serious security issues in the country,” he said. At the same time, he ensured that civilians in towns along the route supported his people. “Civilians came towards us with Russian flags and Wagner badges, they were happy when we arrived and we passed them by.”
Prigozhin also paid tribute to the fact that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko made possible a mediated solution on Saturday, which led to the end of his people’s uprising. Lukashenko “offered to find solutions so that the Wagner group can continue working legally”, emphasized the mercenary boss. (apa/afp/dpa)