Staff Reports
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of The Wagner Group, shocked the world when he ceased his troops’ march towards Moscow on Saturday, supposedly due to a non-prosecution deal brokered by Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus. However, it appears the Kremlin isn’t planning on letting the leader of the mercenary group off the hook so easily. Despite reports to the contrary, the criminal case against Prigozhin has not been dropped. According to RIA Novosti, the Russian state news agency, the investigation is still ongoing.
Putin's Non-Prosecution Deal for Wagner Already Revoked, Prigozhin Denies It Was a Coup https://t.co/6ksqqnrx5S
— RedState (@RedState) June 26, 2023
But that’s not all. On Friday, the FSB, Russia’s domestic intelligence service, initiated a criminal probe against Prigozhin on charges “for the organization of armed insurrection.” This serious offense could lead to a maximum of 20 years in prison for the Wagner boss if he is convicted. His situation is complicated, considering that he is still missing after leaving a Russian military base in a civilian vehicle.
Prigozhin is back with an 11-min audio message. Says the reason he marches is because Wagner was forced to disband on July 1s because of Shoigu order to sign contracts. Wagner commanders refused to sign. Thread:
— Mary Ilyushina (@maryilyushina) June 26, 2023
⚡️Prigozhin: The aim of the March was to avoid destruction of Wagner
— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) June 26, 2023
The reasons behind the Wagner mercenary’s coup d’etat are still up for debate. However, Prigozhin released an 11-minute message on Monday, where he alleged that he was trying to prevent his troops from being disbanded. In his message, the Wagner leader denies that his goal was to overthrow the Russian government, rather to save his troops from being forced to sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense. The contracts left experienced fighters and commanders sidetracked and prevented them from using their full fighting potential and combat experience. As such, the Wagner mercenaries were supposed to rejoin the fight in Ukraine under the Ministry of Defense’s command.
To make matters worse for Prigozhin, the citizens of Russia aren’t too happy with the authorities. When the Wagner Group marched through the cities of Rostov and Moscow, the peaceful people greeted them with Russian flags and with the emblems and flags of the PMC Wagner. They were happy to see Prigozhin’s troops helping them. Many still write letters of support, and some are disappointed that the Wagner Group stopped.
Prigozhin’s situation highlights the growing problem of bureaucracy and other evils that the country faces. His march for justice showed a serious security problem across the country. They blocked all military parts of the airfield that were obstructing them, and in less than a day, they reached only 200 km (125 miles) to Moscow and entered and fully occupied the city of Rostov.
Overall, Prigozhin’s story is far more complicated than what mainstream media outlets are allowing us to understand. It’s clear that there’s more to the deal’s revocation than meets the eye, and that Putin is ready to bring Prigozhin to justice and prevent future uprisings like the one that almost swept across Moscow. It’s about time we start paying attention to the narrative that Russian news agencies are telling their citizens.
