Main Thread for Russian Civil War
Belarussian opposition seems to be rallying to take advantage of the chaos in Russia, but it is unclear if and how this will manifest.
https://nitter.nl/officejjsmart/status/1672535110791340033?s=12&t=xSYLnqsRVgAIYtAQOgKFIA
A fire, on a 🇷🇺 military base, broke out in the Moscow region.
https://twitter.com/officejjsmart/status/1672365690274082822?t=NrK5Zt3d_x9lefN6Z61Alw&s=19
Russian Army is now the second best army in 2 countries. Ukraine and Russia.
@Noxvento @lenux12343 Soon to be the 2nd best army in Moscow.
Automated translation from Prigozhin’s new statement
“Border guards were coming out to meet us and hugging our fighters after we crossed the state border… We will destroy anything that gets in our way”
https://twitter.com/Faytuks/status/1672381915431596034
"The current situation today was a rocket attack on us. After that the helicopters worked off. After that the artillery commands came from the Chief of General Staff to destroy the Wagner Cheka. After a meeting with Defense Minister Shoigu, where they made this decision to destroy the recalcitrant units, which are ready to defend their homeland, but their asses are not. At the moment we have crossed state borders in all places. Border guards were coming out to meet us and hugging our fighters. Now we are entering Rostov, a unit of the Ministry of Defense, or rather, the conscripts who were thrown to block our way, have stepped aside. We do not fight children, we do not kill children. Children are being killed. Shoigu throws untrained soldiers, including conscripts, into the war. He put 18-year-old boys against us, they are our children, they are all our grandchildren. So these guys will live and go back to their mothers. We only fight professionals. But if anyone gets in the way, we will destroy anything that gets in the way. We extend our hand to everyone. No need to spit in that hand. We move on. We go all the way. As for the statements about the arrests. This is brotherhood, this is justice, this is honor, this is conscience. That’s what we have. And when you make statements, you don’t have these feelings, you have destroyed these feelings. So you cannot understand anything but betrayal."
Putin makes televised national address. Summary of speech:
TL;DR - Wagner is committing a betrayal, a stab in the back like 1917, and will face “inevitable punishment”.
So any remaining conspiracy thoughts of this being orchestrated by Putin as an awkward “out” are clearly gone. Also, this will more clearly set up direct armed confrontation between Wagner and the Russian armed forces. It’s probably not that hard to get some of the regulars riled up against Shoigu and the MoD, but now Wagner has to convince them to go against Putin.
Listening to their intercepted phone calls, it seems like they mostly hate Putin for sending them to Ukraine.
While I agree there will be a lot that hate Putin like that, I think the intercepted phone calls are too anecdotal to get a reliable picture of the loyalties within the military.
Full Translation: https://nitter.fly.dev/wartranslated/status/1672508593969549312
Moscow getting ready to welcome WAGNER
https://twitter.com/Maks_NAFO_FELLA/status/1672467879411822594?s=20
The rats are leaving
TikTok Kadyrov’s Akhmat ‘special forces’ battalion has been tasked to stop Prigozhin from reaching Moscow.
Time to see once and for all whether the bastards are good for anything other than TikTok videos.
They got a new TikTok challenge.
Clog the meat grinder?
There is panic in the Kremlin, no one can contact Putin, — rosZMI.
https://twitter.com/Maks_NAFO_FELLA/status/1672370738735599616?t=nvSJ47y_g8nxaoFuDvbxig&s=19
New statement by Prigo in reaction to Putin:
https://nitter.nl/wartranslated/status/1672536701997072384
❗️Prigozhin audio message 10:19AM BST - “no one will surrender to the demands of the President”:
"Regarding the betrayal of the Motherland, the President is deeply mistaken. We’re patriots of our Motherland. We fought and we are fighting, all fighters of PMC Wagner. And no one is going to surrender to the demands of the President, FSB, or anyone else. Because we don’t want the country to live further in corruption lies, and bureaucracy.
When we fought in Africa, we were told that we needed Africa, and then they dumped it, because they stole all the money that was meant to come for help.
When we were told we are fighting with Ukraine, we went and fought. But it turned out that the ammo, weapons, all money put towards this were also being stolen, while officials are sitting and saving them for themselves for an incident that happened today, when someone is going towards Moscow."
Now they are not saving anything, they are striking us with planes and helicopters at the columns with civilians. And they hit civilians because they’re missing. And they hit anywhere they can.
Thus, we are the patriots, but those resisting us today are those who gathered around scumbags.
Audio: t.me/Prigozhin_hat/3812
First I’m seeing him directly call out Putin, albeit a fairly tame call-out.
Chechen soldiers dispatched against Wagner
https://nitter.nl/spectatorindex/status/1672529800890839041?s=12&t=xSYLnqsRVgAIYtAQOgKFIA
Sad. Would be nice if all of Putins Allies fall apart.
getting reports of heavy aircraft leaving rostov, this means they do not intend to hold the airport and are evacuating everything. thats a wagner win without a fight
Putin must wish he’d never invaded Ukraine. He had it so good before that total miscalculation.
Thanks for posting these updates.
just saw this article on Moscow Times ( neutral, now in Amsterdam based news)
"Following speculation that he had de facto announced an armed revolt against Russia’s military, Prigozhin later added: “It is not a coup d’etat. It’s a march of justice. Our actions do not impede [regular Russian] soldiers at all.”
Whatever he said or meant, it’s going to be chaos imo.
On the Rostov-Moscow road in the area of Kozachi Tabory, the first clash occurred between the advanced groups of the “Wagner” PMC, moving towards Moscow, and the units of the “Rosgvardiya”.
https://twitter.com/Maks_NAFO_FELLA/status/1672368208165101568?t=W855aTSobKGA3ZDc9ur2yw&s=19
Footage of Prigozhin in Rostov, pictured with Deputy Minister of Defense, Colonel General Yunus-Bek Yevkurov (at left, from 0:13 on) — see the latter’s official portrait photo for reference; looks like a match.
edit: and Lt. Gen. Vladimir Alekseyev, deputy chief of GRU military intelligence 1
Partial translation summary: Wagner issues orders to MoD commanders it has captured; will “blockade Rostov and go to [ed: towards?] Moscow until we get the Chief of the General Staff and Shoigu” 2, 3
- Machine translation here. Highlight: Lt. Gen. Alekseyev tells Prigozhin, “the biggest thing that upsets me is… I hear there’s a party in Kyiv. With champagne”
