The head of the mercenary group Wagner has rebelled against the Russian military leadership and claims to control the city of Rostov

months of tension between Yevgeny Prigozhin and leadership of the Russian army on the development of the war in Ukraine ended with an explosion in the last few hours with the entrance of the head of the mercenary group Wagner in a Russian city Rostovthe headquarters of the southern military command, while criminal proceedings were initiated against him from Moscow for inciting an armed rebellion, in the biggest internal crisis that the Government of Vladimir Putin has faced since the beginning of the invasion of Ukrainian territory in February last year.

Events came to a head last Friday afternoon, when Prigozhin directly accused the Russian oligarchy and the Ministry of Defense, specifically the portfolio holder and the man he considers his enemy, Sergei Shoigu, to trick the president into invading Ukraine. Hours later, the organization condemned a “military-launched rocket attack” by the Russian military on its training camps. The Ministry of Defense categorically rejected the accusations, which it assessed as “informational provocation”, reports Europa Press.

In the afternoon, Wagner announced the start of an operation to go to Rostov, the headquarters of the Southern Command and where Shoigu was said to be at the time, according to the group, to ask the defense minister for an explanation of what had happened. “This is not a military coup. This is a march for justice,” the group agreed as the Kremlin launched its first reaction against Prigozhin: opening criminal proceedings against him for inciting armed rebellion, a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

Soon after, prominent names such as the commander-in-chief of Russian forces in Ukraine, Sergei Surovikin, appeared on social media demanding that the mercenaries halt their advance and “respect the will” of President Putin. “Our blood is the same. We are warriors. I am asking you to stop because the enemy (Ukraine) is waiting for the deterioration of the internal political situation in our country,” said Surovikin.

This reaction did not intimidate Prigozhin at all, who in his announcement of entering the city assured that his forces were welcomed as saviors by the population and the Russian forces stationed there. The units of the Ministry of Defense, that is, the conscripts, who blocked our passage by force, moved aside, and the border guards embraced our fighters, he said.

At the height of the event, the United States and Ukraine began to take note of what happened, although they remained strictly silent. U.S. government sources said in comments to CNN on condition of anonymity that the advance by Prigozhin and his men toward Rostov did not appear to be a ploy to get Ukrainian forces to lower their guard. “We believe it’s real,” they assured.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense limited itself to recording the situation with a short message: “We are watching.” An adviser to the Ukrainian presidency, Mikhailo Podoliak, described the situation as an example of “classic Russian poetry” and said that “tumultuous times are coming” and that “the historical process is irreversible.”

The only news coming from Putin overnight consisted of a brief statement from his spokesman, Dimitri Peskov, who assured that the Russian president is receiving constant information on developments, but the agent is expected to appear publicly soon to give his assessment.

Prigozhin also maintained his silence throughout the night, finally broken at dawn by the release of a video that places him in the city of Rostov, in conversation with Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yunusbek Evkurov. In the images, which have not yet been verified by independent media, Prigozhin demands an interview with Defense Minister Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Army Valery Gerasimov. “Until they come, we will block Rostov and move towards Moscow,” he warns. The mayor of the Russian capital, Sergei Sobyanin, declared a state of counter-terrorist alert in the capital. THE WAR CONTINUES

These events did not stop the fighting in Ukraine. Tonight, Ukraine’s interior minister, Ihor Klimenyo, condemned at least three deaths and eight injuries in the Russian bombardment of the capital, Kiev, when Russian rockets hit a residential building in the Solomyan district.

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

“Clarification of information about the consequences of the impact of debris on the 24-story building in the Solomian district. Two deaths have been identified so far. 8 people were injured. Two were hospitalized, the others received medical assistance on the spot,” Popko wrote.

“About 40 parked cars were damaged. The information from the operational summary is being clarified,” the army added.

On the other hand, the Russian Ministry of Defense warned that Ukraine is taking advantage of the Wagner leader’s “provocation” to launch a counter-offensive against the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, which has been one of the major recent war hotspots.

“Using Prigozhin’s provocation to disorganize the situation, the Kiev regime under the tactical leadership of Bakhmut is concentrating units of the 35th and 36th Marine Brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the initial lines of offensive operations,” he said. learn 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 final weeks of fighting, the Wagner leader began a campaign of coming out on social media to denounce the constant neglect his men, the front line of attack against the Ukrainian defense, are suffering at the hands of the Russian Defense Ministry, the beginning of a definitive rupture that appears to have ended this Saturday.