The announcement follows a statement from owner Yevgeny Prigozhin accusing Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu of ordering a rocket strike on Wagner’s field camps in the Ukraine where its soldier are fighting on behalf of Russia against Ukranian forces.
I guess it has to be said, are the videos authentic? I haven’t seen anyone in the media outlets question the veracity or claim the they have been determined to be genuine.
If they are, this is a weird fucking twist and I can only believe the Prigozshin feels that the Russian regulars are so weakened and separated that he has the ability to extract whatever justice* he feels he is due. But, also, did he have a gay lover who was killed in that missile strike? That’s the only reason I can think that he would march to extract revenge without just being clear that he’s planning to take over the country.
Well well, this is getting more interesting. Still not sure how this will play out. Mark Galeotti’s excellent book Putin’s Wars mentions several wannabe warlords whose escapades came to quick and bloody ends at the hands of Russian special forces or the FSB.
I’m actually a bit surprised Comrade Shitheel Prigozhin hasn’t met the same fate. Perhaps his Wagner wall of meat is still seen as having service to render to the Kremlin.
I don’t at all see Prigozhin as a leadership threat to Putin, but I like that he and Strelkov and Kadyrov are all busy trying to one up each other’s stupidity. I’m all for it as long as it hastens Russia’s battlefield defeat. If it leads to Russia’s decolonization, all the better.
Speaking of which, this is a fascinating project.
https://russiadecolonized.com/
Didn’t the Russian special forces suffer a pretty big set-back when trying to land in some Ukrainian airfield back at the start?