According to world media, the mutinous Wagner mercenary army vowed to march on Moscow if their demands are not met, prompting President Vladimir Putin to declare during a special televised speech to the nation that “Russia’s future is at stake.”
The Russian Wagner Group, a private army that has been battling alongside the Russian military in Ukraine against Ukrainian forces, went on the rampage on Friday, crossing the border into southern Russia from Ukraine and seizing control of the important city of Rostov. An estimated 25,000–50,000 soldiers are present.
Mercenaries from the Wagner Group are currently spotted patrolling Rostov’s streets in war tanks, according to images and video in the international press.
Puttin declared the insurrection to be a “betrayal and high treason” and promised “inevitable punishment” to put an end to the rebellion.
The Southern Command of the Russian military, which is in charge of all military operations in Ukraine, has its headquarters in Rostov. The city has a population of over a million and is more than 100 kilometers from the border.
The head of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, 62, threatened to “go all the way” to overthrow Russia’s military hierarchy and insisted that Sergei Shoigu, the defense minister, and Army Chief General Valery Gerasimov travel to Rostov to speak with him.
