Military disobedience: Wagner accuses Russia of bombing its positions and ordering its soldiers to withdraw from Ukraine
Commander of the Russian Wagner Forces: My men crossed the border from Ukraine into Russia and are now in the city of Rostov in southern Russia, and we are ready to continue until the end and we will destroy everyone who stands in our way if necessary.
Commander Wagner accuses the Russian army of bombing his troops' camps
The commander of the Russian paramilitary Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, on Friday accused the Russian army of bombing the camps of its forces and killing a “large number” of them, while Moscow denied this.
Prigozhin vowed, in an audio message posted on social media, to take revenge on the Russian army, saying that it was Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu who ordered the confrontation of Wagner's forces, without further details.
In the context, Prigozhin called on the Russian army forces to join its elements that are engaged in combat operations in Ukraine, noting that the next step requires the "dismissal" of Shoigu.
He said that the leadership of the Wagner Group considers it "necessary to stop those who bear military responsibility in the country," referring to the Russian Defense Minister.
Russia, in turn, denied the claims of the Wagner commander, and rejected any accusations of bombing the paramilitary group's forces.
The Russian authorities also announced the start of a criminal investigation with the leader of the group, regarding his threats to dismiss the Minister of Defense, according to the "Associated Press".
Over the past months, Wagner's commander has issued statements that reflect the existence of differences between his group and the Russian army.
And Prigozhin had threatened, in April and May, to withdraw part of the group's militants from the Bakhmut front in eastern Ukraine, in the event that the Russian army did not deliver the necessary ammunition to its forces.