Russia Accuses Wagner Mercenary Group Chief Of Instigating Armed Mutiny
Moscow:
Russia accused the head of the powerful mercenary group Wagner of mounting an armed uprising as the growing animosity between rival Kremlin camps over the war in Ukraine spilled into open conflict.
Here are 5 facts about this big story:
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Russian authorities have tightened security in several regions after the Wagner group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin vowed to topple the Moscow leadership.
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Prigozhin today vowed to take all necessary steps to topple the country’s military leadership in Moscow, saying his forces would “destroy everything” in their way.
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“We are going onwards and we will go to the end,” Yevgeny Prigozhin said in a new audio message after vowing to sideline Russia’s military leadership.
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Russia’s FSB security service opened a criminal case against him and called on the Wagner private military company forces to ignore his orders and arrest him.
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The showdown marked the most dramatic escalation in a long-running feud between the mercenary leader and Russia’s defense establishment that’s spiraled into what is the biggest challenge to Putin’s authority since he sent troops into Ukraine 16 months ago.
