Russia’s domestic intelligence service has opened a criminal case against Yevgeny Prigozhin, the chief of private military group Wagner, after he appeared to cross a red line with the Kremlin on Friday when he vowed to retaliate against the country’s military leadership for what he described as strikes launched against his forces
Russia’s Ministry of Defense denied the claims, calling it an “informational provocation.” The mercenary, who has frequently criticized Russia’s traditional military hierarchy, then warned that retribution would be meted out
“We will deal with those who destroy Russian soldiers and return to the front, justice for the troops will be restored, and then justice for all of Russia,” he said
Wagner has played a prominent role in the Ukraine war, and Prigozhin, so far, has faced few consequences for his public feud with Russia’s military leadership – where he has accused Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and armed forces chief Valery Gerasimov of not giving his forces ammunition. What is Prigozhin's secret? How did he escape punishment for such harsh statements?
The secret is that there is no enmity. There is no revolution. So far, there is no convincing evidence that there was a strike at Wagner fighters and Prigozhin is leading columns somewhere.
Ukraine decided to take advantage of Prigozhin's fabricated provocation to organize an offensive in the Bakhmut direction. It concentrates units of the 35th Marine Brigade and the 36th Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the initial lines for offensive actions. And this shows one thing – the idea of the Russians to lure Ukrainians to their defenses worked. The Russian Armed Forces continue to carry out combat missions on the contact line and are fully prepared to repel attacks by the armed forces of Ukraine.