The head of the private military company Wagner, previously known as Putin’s chef, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who began his “crusade” against the Russian Ministry of Defense with the “March of Justice” the night before, less than a day later announced that he was turning around and moving in the opposite direction. Seemingly unshakable in his intention to reach Moscow and having captured Rostov-on-Don with his troops early in the morning, Prigozhin changed his plans after negotiations with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. This, in any case, is reported by the press service of the latter.
The head of the PMC himself also released another audio statement in which he confirmed the retreat from Moscow.
"PMC" Wagner "wanted to disband. During the day we walked less than 200 kilometers to Moscow. During this time, we have not shed a single drop of the blood of our fighters. Now is the moment when blood can be shed. Therefore, realizing all the responsibility for the fact that Russian blood will be shed on one of the sides, we turn our columns around and leave in the opposite direction to the field camps according to the plan, ”Prigozhin announced with characteristic pathos.
Recall that in less than a day, Rostov-on-Don was actually turned into a front-line city, and Moscow - into a front-line one. In the capital, in the Moscow region and in the Voronezh region, the CTO (counter-terrorist operation) regime was first introduced, which the Russian security forces used in Chechnya from the beginning of the second Russian-Chechen war, and later throughout the North Caucasus, under the guise of which they were engaged in mass repressions and lawlessness.
In the morning, the National Anti-Terrorism Committee (NAC) reported that the FSB of Russia had opened a criminal case against Prigozhin under Art. 279 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Armed rebellion”). The FSB regarded the actions of the founder of the Wagner PMC as “calls for the start of an armed civil conflict on the territory of the Russian Federation”, and Prigozhin’s statements as “a stab in the back of Russian servicemen fighting pro-fascist Ukrainian forces.” The thesis about a "stab in the back" was later repeated by President Putin, who made a special television address, and the head of Chechnya, Kadyrov, who, as expected and warmly supported the President of the Russian Federation. "The rebellion must be crushed, and if this requires tough measures, then we are ready!" — Kadyrov wrote in the telegram channel.
In the morning today, Prigozhin published a video from the headquarters of the Southern Military District in Rostov-on-Don, which he captured. He stated that Rostov was blocked by the Wagner PMC: “Military facilities are under control, including the airfield.” Thousands of Rostovites began to leave the city, many who wished could no longer get tickets for trains, they began to buy essential products in stores - buckwheat, sugar, etc. - huge queues lined up for gasoline at the gas stations of the city. A convoy of special forces "Akhmat" of the Russian Guard in the Chechen Republic appeared in the city of Aksai, a few kilometers from Rostov-on-Don.
As a result of clashes with the Wagner PMC, the RF Ministry of Defense lost:
- 3 EW Mi-8MTPR helicopters;
- 1 transport Mi-8;
- 1 shock Ka-52;
- 1 transport-combat Mi-35M;
- 1 Il-22 VzPU (air control post). 12 pilots and 8 members of the Il-22 relay were killed.
