President Vladimir Putin vowed this Saturday to punish the “betrayal” of the head of the Wagner paramilitary group, whose rebellion against the Russian military command poses a “mortal threat” and the risk of “civil war” to the country amid a battle with Ukraine.

The latest events represent the most significant challenge Putin has faced during his long term in office, and the most serious security crisis in Russia since the leader came to power in late 1999.

In a black suit and tie, with a serious face and a martial tone, the Russian president, without explicitly naming him, addressed the man who challenged him, Yevgeny Prigozhin: “It is a stab in the back for our country and our people.” he declared during a speech to the nation.

“What we are dealing with is precisely betrayal. A betrayal caused by Prigozhin’s excessive ambition and personal interests,” he added, promising “punishment”.

After Putin’s speech, Wagner’s boss replied that the Russian president is “completely wrong” to accuse the paramilitaries of “treason”.

“We are patriots. Nobody intends to surrender at the request of the president, the security services or anyone else,” said Prigozhin, who was the first to criticize the Kremlin.

Earlier, the paramilitary leader announced the seizure of the Russian army headquarters in Rostov, the nerve center of operations in Ukraine, and assured that he controls several military installations.

“Rostov’s military sites are under control, including the airport,” Prigozhin said in a video posted to Telegram.

The regional authorities of Rostov and Lipetsk (420 km south of Moscow) urged the population to stay at home.

In his speech, Putin noted that the situation in Rostov was “difficult”.

Halfway between Rostov and Moscow, the governor of Russia’s Voronezh region said the army was conducting “combat operations” as part of an “anti-terrorist operation” to put an end to the uprising. According to him, a fuel tank burned down.

Authorities stepped up security measures in Moscow, where an “anti-terrorist regime of operations” was established, a direct result of the threat posed by Prigozhin, who warned in an audio message on Telegram that his troops will “go to the end” and “destroy everything that threatens him”. stands in the way.

“We are all ready to die. All 25,000 and then another 25,000,” Prigozhin claimed. “We are dying for the Russian people, who must be freed from those who bomb the civilian population.”

“With the Chairman”

The leaders of both chambers of the Russian parliament in turn called for support for the Russian government.

The Speaker of the Lower House, Viacheslav Volidin, urged the population to support “President Vladimir Putin, Commander-in-Chief”, and his counterpart in the Upper House, Valentina Matvienko, stressed that “Russia’s strength lies in” unity […] and our historical intolerance of treachery and provocations”.

Along the same line, Patriarch Cyril, head of the Russian Orthodox Church and an ally of Putin, called for “unity” despite “attempts to sow discord”.

Those responsible for the Russian occupation in the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Lugansk (east) and Zaporizhia and Kherson (south) also declared this Saturday that their territories “are with President” Putin.

Instead, from Ukraine, President Volodimir Zelensky insisted on Russia’s “obvious” weakness and defended that his country protects Europe “from Russian evil and chaos”.

Research

Russia’s Prosecutor General has opened a “criminal investigation in connection with the attempted armed insurrection,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced for his part.

In several audio messages broadcast Thursday, Wagner’s boss had claimed that Russian bombing caused a “large number of casualties” among his ranks.

“They have carried out bombing, rocket bombing, against our rear bases. A large number of our fighters have died,” he said, accusing Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu of ordering those attacks.

Some allegations that “do not correspond to reality and are a provocation”, the Defense Ministry responded in a statement.

The Russian security forces, the FSB, called on Wagner’s fighters to arrest their boss. An influential Russian general, Sergei Surovikin, urged Wagner’s militiamen to give up their rebellion.

This dispute has highlighted the existing tensions within the armed forces mobilized in the Ukrainian conflict.

“We must stop those who have military responsibility in the country,” Wagner’s chief said, calling on the Russians to join their troops and not resist.

Help even “the devil”

The governments of the United States, France and Germany and the United Kingdom, as well as the European Union, indicated that they are closely monitoring the situation in Russia.

According to the British counterintelligence services, Russia faces the “most important challenge” of recent times.

Russian exile opposition businessman Mikhail Khodorkovsky on Saturday called on the populace to support Prigozhin’s uprising, after noting the importance of defending “even the devil” if he decides to confront the Kremlin.

A few hours before the outbreak of this crisis, Prigozhin pointed out that the Russian army was “withdrawing” into eastern and southern Ukraine, contradicting the Kremlin’s claims that the counter-offensive in Kiev is failing.

“There is no control, there are no military triumphs” for Moscow, Prigozhin insisted.

However, Russia’s Defense Ministry warned that Ukraine is preparing to attack Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, “taking advantage of Prigozhin’s provocation”.