MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the nation on Saturday morning amid ongoing fighting after the head of Wagner Group, the Russian mercenary group, accused Russia of killing over 2,000 fighters.
In a series of audio messages on his official Telegram channel, Yevgeny Prigozhin promised revenge for those who had died. Since then, mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said his forces were in control of the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don but Fwrd Axis News has not been able to verify that claim.
Prigozhin has alleged that the Kremlin’s justification for invading Ukraine was based on lies
The city is home to the Russian military headquarters that oversees the fighting in Ukraine.
A Kremlin spokesperson had earlier said that Putin was being continually briefed of the situation.
“Those who destroyed our lads, who destroyed the lives of many tens of thousands of Russian soldiers, will be punished. I ask that no one offer resistance,” Prigozhin said on the social media app Telegram.
The National Anti-Terrorism Committee, which is part of the Federal Security Services, charged Prigozhin with calling for an armed rebellion, which holds a 20-year prison sentence.
They added the rebellion is a “stab in the back to Russian troops”.
“Those who carry deliberately went on a path of treason, preparing an armed rebellion when you were preparing terrorist attacks, will be punished,” Putin said in an address to the nation.
“Any internal turmoil is a deadly threat to our statehood for us as a nation; it is a blow to Russia for our people and our actions to protect our homeland. Such a threat will face a severe response,” he continued.
Russian authorities denied the claims of Ukrainian progress and Ukrainian military leaders say that the most difficult fighting is yet to come.
“We still have the main events ahead of us,” Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar told media. “And the main blow is still to come. Indeed, some of the reserves — these are staged things — will be activated later.”
Russia’s National Anti-terrorist Committee announced Saturday the implementation of a “counter-terrorist operation regime” in the regions of Moscow and Voronezh.
