Criminal Investigation Launched Against Wagner Group Leader for Alleged Threats to Remove Defense Minister in Russia

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Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the private military contractor Wagner Group, has escalated his direct challenge to the Kremlin by calling for an armed rebellion to oust Russia’s defense minister. In response, the security services have promptly initiated a criminal investigation against Prigozhin.

Prigozhin released a series of angry video and audio recordings accusing Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu of ordering a rocket strike on Wagner’s field camps in Ukraine, where his troops are engaged in combat on behalf of Russia. He declared that his troops would retaliate against Shoigu through an armed rebellion and urged the army not to resist.

Prigozhin clarified that the intended action was not a military coup but rather a pursuit of justice. The National Anti-Terrorism Committee, a division of the Federal Security Services, announced that Prigozhin would be investigated on charges of inciting an armed rebellion, and President Vladimir Putin was reportedly kept informed, according to the state news agency Tass.

Wagner Group has played a significant role in Russia’s war in Ukraine, notably capturing the city of Bakhmut, where the fiercest and most protracted battles have taken place. Prigozhin has frequently criticized Russia’s military leadership, accusing them of incompetence and neglecting his troops by depriving them of adequate weaponry and ammunition. However, his recent accusations and calls for armed rebellion represent a more direct challenge.

The Russian Defense Ministry had mandated that all military contractors sign contracts with them before July 1. Prigozhin, who has had a longstanding feud with the Defense Ministry, refused to comply. In a statement released late Friday, he expressed his willingness to find a compromise with the Defense Ministry but claimed that they had betrayed him.

According to Prigozhin, the Defense Minister personally oversaw the rocket strike on Wagner Group’s rear camps in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don and subsequently fled in a cowardly manner. Prigozhin vowed to stop Shoigu and referred to the country’s military leadership as an embodiment of evil that must be halted. He urged the army not to resist Wagner Group’s pursuit of justice.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on other nations to take heed of warnings indicating that Russia might be planning an attack on an occupied nuclear power plant to cause a radiation disaster. Zelenskyy’s government briefed international representatives about the potential threat to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which has had its six reactors shut down for several months. Zelenskyy expects other countries to take appropriate action and exert pressure on Moscow to prevent any radiation incidents.

The Kremlin’s spokesperson denied that the threat to the plant originated from Russian forces. The risk of a life-threatening release of radiation has been a concern since Russian troops invaded Ukraine and seized control of the plant, which is the largest nuclear power station in Europe. The head of the United Nations’ atomic energy agency had previously attempted to negotiate the establishment of a safety perimeter to protect the facility, but those efforts have been unsuccessful due to the increasingly tense military situation.

The International Atomic Energy Agency acknowledged that the military situation has become more precarious as a Ukrainian counteroffensive unfolds in Zaporizhzhia province, where the nuclear plant is located, and in an adjacent part of Donetsk province. Although the reactors were shut down to reduce the risk of a meltdown, experts have cautioned that a radiation release could still occur if the cooling system loses power or water.

During the months of conflict, both Russia and Ukraine have blamed each other for escalating the threat to the plant. Earlier this week, Ukrainian officials accused Russia of sabotaging the cooling system, which was already under

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• Russia opens criminal probe into Wagner Group head over alleged threats to oust defense minister
• Wagner Group
• Yevgeny Prigozhin
• Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant
• Ukraine-Russia Conflict