Wagner chief claims to have seized army HQ in Rostov, Russia, control military sites

Evguéni Prigojine assures that the military planes engaged in the Russian offensive in Ukraine “depart normally”, while Vladimir Putin admits a “difficult” situation.

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A tank on a street in Rostov (Russia), June 24, 2023. (ERIK ROMANENKO / TASS / SIPA)

The leader of the paramilitary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigojine, claimed, Saturday, June 24 via a video posted on Telegram, to be in the headquarters of the Russian army in the city of Rostov. “We’re at HQ, it’s 7:30 in the morning” (6:30 a.m. Paris time), he said. “The military sites in Rostov are under control, including the airfield”he added, as uniformed men walked behind him.

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Footage posted on social media and by news agencies shows tanks and troops moving through the city of Rostov. Tenth Russian city with more than a million inhabitants, the city is located a few tens of kilometers from the border with Ukraine and is home to a crucial command center for the Russian offensive.

Vladimir Putin evokes a “difficult” situation

Yevgeny Prigojine assured that the military planes engaged in the Russian offensive in Ukraine “depart normally” from the Rostov airfield to fill their “combat tasks”asserting that“there is no problem”. “The main command point is functioning normally”continued Evguéni Prigojine, assuring that“no officer” deployed there has been suspended from duty.

“Decisive steps will be taken to stabilize the situation in Rostov. It remains difficult”, said Vladimir Putin in an address to the nation. The Russian Head of State specified that the operation “organs of civil and military administration is de facto blocked” in this city.


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