Russian mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin says his Wagner fighters have crossed the border into Russia from Ukraine and are prepared to go “all the way” against Moscow’s military, hours after the Kremlin accused him of armed mutiny. 7NEWS
He had earlier said that he had 25,000 fighters moving towards Moscow to “restore justice” and had alleged, without providing evidence, that the military had killed a huge number of fighters from his Wagner private militia in an air strike, something the defence ministry denied.
The dramatic turn, with many details unclear, looked like the biggest domestic crisis President Vladimir Putin has faced since he ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine - something he called a “special military operation” - in February last year. It added: “We urge the ... fighters not to make irreparable mistakes, to stop any forcible actions against the Russian people, not to carry out the criminal and traitorous orders of Prigozhin, to take measures to detain him.”
“The war was needed ... so that Shoigu could become a marshal ... so that he could get a second ‘Hero’ medal,” Prigozhin said in a video clip. The administration of the Voronezh region, on the M-4 motorway between the regional capital Rostov-on-Don and Moscow, said on Telegram that a military convoy was on the highway and urged residents to avoid using it.
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