Posted on 06/23/2023 4:42:30 PM PDT by Zhang Fei
RIGA, Latvia — Russia’s Federal Security Service late Friday announced a criminal case against Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeniy Prigozhin, accusing him of “incitement to armed rebellion” after he declared an open conflict with Russia’s military leadership and called on Russians to join 25,000 Wagner fighters against Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and other top commanders.
Prigozhin, whose private military company helped Russia seize the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, Moscow’s only significant territorial gain this year, accused the Russian military on Friday of carrying out a strike on a Wagner camp, and appeared to threaten Shoigu, declaring “This scum will be stopped!”
In a rare late-night statement, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that President Vladimir Putin had been informed about the situation and that “all necessary measures” were being taken.
The announcement of the criminal case by the Federal Security Service, or FSB, signaled that Prigozhin could face imminent arrest for comments in which he declared that he would lead a “march of justice” against his enemies in Russia’s Ministry of Defense. The Wagner leader denied that he was attempting a military coup.
In a series of furious audio messages, Prigozhin accused Shoigu of flying to Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia specifically to launch a missile strike against Wagner, before fleeing the area late Friday.
The Russian Defense Ministry responded swiftly to Prigozhin’s extraordinary threats, denying his claim that the military had struck a Wagner camp, calling it “an informational provocation.”
“The armed forces of the Russian Federation continue to carry out combat missions on the line of contact with the armed forces of Ukraine in the area of the special military operation,” the ministry said.
Prigozhin posted a video purporting to show the strike on the camp where he said many of his fighters were killed.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Ukraine ping
This could turn out to be a damp squib, but it appears Prigozhin is now playing for all the marbles. Putin staged the age-old summons to a general at war to return alone to the capital (to be relieved of the troops he commands) as a loyalty test. Prigozhin is responding as Caesar did, by moving towards the Rubicon, army in tow.
Tanks on Moscow streets. Russia vs Wagner’s and other dissatisfied.
This is very dicey
Or Prigo is on a massive bender tonight after Shoigu tried to assassinate him 2 days ago.
Ha ha.
Seeing lots of chatter on Twitter that this could be a moment in history. Very dangerous.
You know the justus departmento wants to charge President Trump with that exact charge.
War is weird but Russia is INSANE.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see a mercenary go completely bonkers. You have to be mostly bonkers to be one in the first place
“Wagner mercenary boss faces arrest over ‘incitement to armed rebellion’”
About damn time that Putin started acting like the US DOJ.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend?
But, which one is my friend and which is the enemy.
The Russians are so confusing.
Anywho, Putin is the villain in all of this.
The Western democracies have a good record of allowing failed Generals to retire in good graces.
Autocrats, Kings, Tyrants, Dictators, have a bad record of executing generals who did not meet the grade...
This may be something, it may be nothing, deceit is an important part of warfare. Sowing distrust into the other side's camp is an age-old tactic.
Well... yeah... if he actually said what he said that’s actual incitement.
And nowhere NEAR what happened on Jan 6.
Putin made the mistake of hiring his mercenaries that were able to perform effectively in the war in Ukraine while at the same time his military was incompetent.
Trump didn’t hire anyone to attack and invade another country.
Coups never succeed without the army’s backing.
If this one is not fake, it will be squelched rapidly. If it’s fake, it will expose the leading dissidents who fall for it, and they will be defenestrated rapidly.
Hiring mercenaries to work in Africa is not super dangerous.
Hiring them in a large military force, a few hundred miles from your capital city, is problematic.
He’s a natural leader. Soldiers will follow him.
Let the man speak
https://youtu.be/V8thO6S5duE?t=33
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