Russian Wagner mercenary group calls for ‘armed rebellion’ against President Putin

After claiming that Russia's military leadership deliberately shelled his forces on June 23, the leader of Russia's Wagner mercenary group appears to be threatening an armed rebellion.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of Wagner, said in an audio message on Friday that his troops have crossed over the birder from Ukraine and are prepared to confront anyone who would stop them. 

This was Prigozhin's latest provocation, since Russian authorities announced they would open a criminal case against the mercenary chief for allegedly making threats to remove the country's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu,

Prigozhin said on Friday that Shoigu told him to launch a rocket attack on Wagner's field camps in Ukraine, where Russian soldiers are fighting for Russia. Prigozhin lashed out against the rocket fire and the harm it has done to Wagner forces in a Telegram audio.

Despite his failure to provide evidence, Prigozhin estimated that the blasts had killed 2,000 of his fighters. The Russian government has since interpreted his call to action as an invitation to mutiny.

The words of Prigozhin marked a significant escalation in his ongoing disagreement with the Russian defense ministry. The ministry responded by issuing a statement in which it stated that Prigozhin's allegations were "not true and are an informational provocation."

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