Former Russian commander Igor Girkin claimed that Russia will face a “mutiny” from the Wagner group and its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin- the most prominent mercenary outfits in Russia. Yevgeny Prigozhin and Russian president Vladimir Putin have so far shared a a close relationship as the Wagner group maintained a strong presence in Ukraine, particularly Bakhmut.
The group’s leader announced this month that Wagner fighters would be withdrawing from Bakhmut by June 1, handing over “positions, ammunition, everything including dry rations” to the Russian military. But he also criticised Russian officials for their handling of Bakhmut and said that the invasion of Ukraine has backfired.
“With regard to demilitarization…if they had 500 tanks at the beginning of the special operation, [now] they have 5,000 tanks,” Prigozhin said, adding, “If they had 20,000 people able to fight skillfully, now 400,000 people know how to fight. How did we demilitarize it? It turns out that the opposite is true—we militarized her hell knows how.”
Girkin claimed that Prigozhin was laying the ground for a “mutiny” and to carry out a “coup” against the Kremlin with Wagner forces. Girkin’s claims were circulated on Twitter by WarTranslated that translates materials related to the invasion of Ukraine.
“Girkin accuses Prigozhin of preparing for a coup in Russia,” the official WarTranslated account tweeted, adding, “He says the insults towards the Russian army by Putin’s cook are unacceptable, and signal a rift in the elites which Prigozhin will take advantage of with his private army that is being withdrawn from Bakhmut. Girkin adds that if Russia misses the upcoming counter-offensive, the political situation in the country may become unrecongisable by the end of summer.”
“If Prigozhin remains the head of Wagner, the mutiny will come quickly and radically,” Girkin said, claiming that “a coup attempt has been declared…What will happen next, I don’t know, especially as Wagner is urgently withdrawn to rear bases…The danger of a looming coup is clear.”
