Wagner boss defies Russian Defense Ministry with his entry into the city of Rostov

Yevgeni Prigozhin demands the presence of Minister Shoigu to ask him for explanations about an alleged attack on his mercenaries

The Russian authorities open a case against him for armed rebellion while Moscow enters a state of anti-terrorist alert

MADRID, 24 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Months of tension between Yevgeni Prigozhin and the leadership of the Russian Army over the development of the war in Ukraine have ended up exploding in recent hours with the entry of the head of the Wagner mercenary group into the Russian city of Rostov, headquarters of the southern military command. , while a criminal case has been opened against him from Moscow for inciting armed rebellion, in what is the biggest internal crisis faced by the Government of Vladimir Putin since the beginning of the invasion of Ukrainian territory in February of last year.

Events precipitated last Friday afternoon, when Prigozhin directly accused the Russian oligarchy and the Defense Ministry, more specifically the head of the portfolio and the man he considers his nemesis, Sergei Shoigu, of deceiving the president to invade Ukraine. Hours later, the organization denounced "a missile attack carried out by the military" by the Russian Army against its training camps. The Ministry of Defense categorically rejected the accusation, which it described as "informative provocation".

After the afternoon, Wagner announced the beginning of an operation to go to Rostov, the headquarters of the southern command and where Shoigu was supposedly at that moment, according to the group, to ask the Defense Minister for explanations of what had happened. "This is not a military coup. This is a march for justice," the group settled while the Kremlin launched the first reaction against Prigozhin: the opening of a criminal case against him for inciting armed rebellion, a crime that could be punished with up to 20 years in jail.

Shortly after, prominent names such as the main commander of the Russian forces in Ukraine, Sergei Surovikin, appeared on social networks to demand that the mercenaries cease their advance and "obey the will" of President Putin. "Our blood is the same. We are warriors. I ask you to stop because the enemy (Ukraine) is waiting for the worsening of the internal political situation in our country," Surovikin said.

This reaction did not intimidate Prigozhin in the least, who assured in his announcement of entry into the city that his forces had been received as saviors by the population and by the Russian forces stationed there. "The Defense Ministry units, or rather conscripts, who were blocking our way have moved aside, and the border guards have embraced our fighters," he said.

At these heights of events, the United States and Ukraine began to take note of what had happened, although keeping strict silence. US government sources estimated, in comments to CNN on condition of anonymity, that the advance of Prigozhin and his men to Rostov did not seem like a ploy to make the Ukrainian forces lower their guard. "We believe it is real," they have assured.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense limited itself to taking note of the situation with a terse message: "We are watching." The adviser to the Ukrainian Presidency, Mikhailo Podoliak, described the situation as an example of "classical Russian poetry" and advanced that "tumultuous times are coming" and that "the historical process is irreversible."

The only news that there has been from Putin throughout the night has consisted of a brief statement from his spokesman, Dimitri Peskov, who has assured that the Russian president is receiving constant information on the development of events, but it is expected that the agent to appear publicly shortly to provide his assessment.

Prigozhin has also maintained silence through the night, finally broken at dawn with the publication of a video that places him in the city of Rostov, in conversation with the Russian Deputy Defense Minister, Junus-bek Evkurov. In the images, which have not yet been verified by independent media, Prigozhin demands to speak to Defense Minister Shoigu and the Chief of the Russian Army General Staff, Valeri Gerasimov. "Until they get here, we will blockade Rostov and head for Moscow," he warns. The mayor of the Russian capital, Sergei Sobyanin, has declared a state of anti-terrorism alert in the capital. THE WAR CONTINUES

These events have not stopped the fighting in Ukraine. Tonight, the Ukrainian Interior Minister, Ihor Klimenjo, has denounced at least three deaths and eight injuries in a Russian bombardment against the capital, Kieva, when Russian rockets hit a residential building in the Solomyan district.

The rockets exploded against a 24-story building, causing debris to fall and the destruction and subsequent fire on the 16th, 17th and 18th floors, according to the head of the Kiev City Military Administration, Serhiy Popko. , in your Telegram account.

"Clarification of information on the consequences of the impact of debris against a 24-story building in the Solomian district. For the moment, two deaths have been identified. The injured are 8 people. Two were hospitalized, the rest received medical assistance at the place," Popko wrote.

"About 40 parked cars were damaged. The data from the operational summary are being clarified," added the military.

On the other hand, the Russian Defense Ministry has warned that Ukraine is taking advantage of the "provocation" of Wagner's leader to launch a counteroffensive on the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, which was one of the great recent epicenters of the war.

"Taking advantage of Prigozhin's provocation to disorganize the situation, the Kiev regime in the Bakhmut tactical leadership is concentrating units of the 35th and 36th Marine Brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the starting lines of offensive operations," he said. know the Ministry in a statement collected by the Russian news agency TASS.

The Russian offensive on the Ukrainian city, it should be remembered, marked a before and after in Prigozhin's relations with the Ministry of Defense. In the last weeks of fighting, the leader of Wagner began a campaign of appearances on social networks to denounce the constant neglect that his men, the first line of attack against the Ukrainian defense, were suffering from the Russian Defense Ministry, in the beginning of the definitive fracture that seems to have finished happening this Saturday.