Russian President Vladimir Putin was briefed Saturday on an “attempted armed rebellion,” the Kremlin said, after the leader of the mercenary Wagner Group claimed control of military facilities in Rostov, a region near the border with Ukraine.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close associate of Putin who is widely believed to finance and direct the Wagner Group, said in a statement that he had ordered his fighters to take over the facilities in response to the deaths of 14 Wagner members in a Ukrainian airstrike on Friday.
“We will not surrender. We will fight to the end,” Prigozhin said, adding that he had appealed to Putin for help and protection.
The Kremlin said Putin had been informed of the situation by his security council and had ordered an investigation.
“The president was informed about an attempted armed rebellion by a group of people who call themselves employees of a private military company,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
“The president instructed the relevant agencies to take all necessary measures to ensure law and order, as well as to establish all the circumstances and reasons for what happened,” Peskov added.
The standoff in Rostov comes amid heightened tensions between Russia and Ukraine, which have been locked in a conflict since 2014 over Crimea and eastern Ukraine.
Russia has amassed more than 100,000 troops near the border with Ukraine, raising fears of a possible invasion. Ukraine and its Western allies have accused Russia of planning a pretext for war, while Russia has accused Ukraine of provoking a conflict.
The Wagner Group is a shadowy mercenary outfit that has been involved in conflicts in Syria, Libya, Sudan and other countries. It is widely seen as an instrument of Russian foreign policy, although Moscow denies any official links to it.
The group has also been accused of human rights abuses, war crimes and assassinations. In 2018, U.S. forces killed hundreds of Wagner fighters who attacked a base in Syria where American troops were stationed.
