In a series of stunning audio messages released late today, Prigozhin appeared to be declaring war on Russia’s military leadership. “Wagner’s council of commanders has made a decision: the evils brought about by the country’s military leadership must be stopped,” he said.
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“Those who destroyed our guys today, who destroyed tens of thousands of lives of Russian soldiers, will be punished. I ask: no one resists,” Prigozhin said.
“Anyone who tries to resist we will consider them a danger and we will immediately destroy them, including all checkpoints in our way. And every air force we see overhead,” he added.
“I ask everyone to remain calm, not to give in to provocations and to stay in their homes. Best of all, those along our way don’t come out. When we finish what we started, we’ll go back to the front lines to protect our homeland.’
Prigozhin also released a video that he says shows the aftermath of a Russian Defense Ministry missile attack on a Wagner field.
‘We are 25,000 [strijders]and we will find out why there is chaos in the country,” Prigozhin added, urging others to join his fight. “Anyone who wants to participate should participate. We must put an end to this mess,” he said.
It wasn’t immediately clear what Prigozhin’s goals were or whether his threats were directed at the Kremlin.
The warlord has been feuding with top military officials for months and accuses Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu of failures on the battlefield.
The Russian Defense Ministry soon released a statement describing Prigozhin’s audio messages as a “provocation”.
“All messages and video images spread on social networks on behalf of E Prigozhin about the alleged ‘attack of the RF Ministry of Defense on the rear of PMC Wagner’ do not correspond to reality and are an information provocation,” the Defense Ministry said. .
Earlier in the day, Prigozhin accused Moscow’s leadership of lying to the public about its justifications for invading Ukraine. He denied Moscow’s claims that Kiev planned to launch an offensive into Russian-held areas in eastern Ukraine in February 2022.