Wagner Chief’s Coup In Russia Ends After 24 Hours Of Uncertainty
Over the weekend, uncertainty reigned in Russia when the leader of the paramilitary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, embarked on an insurrection.
Wagner had been fighting alongside Russian troops in the war against Ukraine.
With a mutiny ongoing, the Singapore embassy in Moscow also urged Singaporeans in Russia to stay indoors.
However, the coup only lasted 24 hours.
Prigozhin called it off and agreed to leave Russia for Belarus, according to the Kremlin on Saturday (24 June).
Wagner chief organises coup in Russia
CNN reports that in response to an alleged attack against his own forces, Prigozhin threatened to attack Russia’s military troops on Friday (23 June).
Source: Reuters
A private military organisation, Wagner Group has been fighting alongside Russia’s military troops for months during the Ukraine war.
However, Prigozhin has heavily criticised Russia’s handling of the conflict, labelling the country’s defence minister and military chief as incompetent.
Shortly after his threat, on Saturday (24 June), Prigozhin claimed that his forces had reached Rostov-on-Don, which houses Russia’s military headquarters for the southern region overseeing the Ukraine conflict.
Source: Reuters via CNN
He also issued a warning against those opposing him, stating:
We will destroy everything that gets in our way.
Calling it a “march of justice” and not a coup, his statement caused Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) to launch a criminal case.
FSB accused Prigozhin of calling for “armed rebellion”.
Putin accuses Wagner chief of treason
In a five-minute address to the public on 24 June, Russian president Vladimir Putin accused Prigozhin of treason, USA Today reports.
Describing the mutiny as a “stab in the back of our country and our people”, he vowed to punish those behind it.
Source: Getty Images via Politico
Not mentioning Prigozhin’s name, he called his actions a “criminal adventure” and a “grave crime”.
Prigozhin responded by denying the treason, before condemning the president as “deeply wrong”, according to BBC News.
He continued to maintain that he was not opposing Russia’s war in Ukraine. Instead, his fight was against those in charge of the conflict.
Prigozhin also mentioned that he was not against Putin’s leadership. This was in spite of threats to enter Moscow if he did not see his military demands being met.
By this point, his troops had occupied the military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don as well as parts of the city surrounding it before moving up the main motorway via Voronezh, advancing towards Moscow.
Wagner chief calls off coup and leaves Russia
However, on 24 June evening, Prigozhin seemed to have done an about-turn by stating that his troops were not advancing any further to avoid bloodshed.
Footage showed the forces retreating from Rostov-on-Don as well, CNN reports.
Source: Reuters
The Kremlin later revealed on the same day that Prigozhin had agreed to leave Russia for Belarus.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko had reportedly brokered the deal.
During a conference call, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the FSB had dropped the criminal case against Prigozhin.
Source: Reuters
He also said that they were currently unaware of Prigozhin’s current whereabouts.
In addition, Prigozhin’s troops which had been approaching Russian military field camps would face no “legal action” for their advance towards Moscow.
The Wagner Group’s troops will instead sign contracts with Russia’s Ministry of Defense.
Embassy warns Singaporeans to stay inside
While the Russian hierarchy seems to have now successfully de-escalated the situation, the tension of the insurrection had been clearly evident — even within Singapore.
At 3.54pm on 24 June, the Singapore embassy in Moscow issued an alert on Facebook, labelled the security situation in parts of Southern Russia as “unstable”.
Source: Reuters
In light of the rapidly spiralling crisis, MFA advised all Singaporeans in Russia to remain indoors and avoid inter-state travel.
The embassy also re-iterated an earlier travel advisory, urging Singaporeans to defer travel to the following regions:
- Krasnodar Territory
- Belgorod
- Bryansk
- Voronezh
- Kursk
- Rostov
Warning Singaporeans to remain vigilant and monitor local news closely, the embassy further advised them to take precautions and register their details with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately here if they had not already done so.
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Featured image adapted from Reuters.
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