Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner group in the Russian city, has posted a video monitoring the war in Ukraine.
After calling for an armed uprising to oust Russia’s defense minister, Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin announced on Saturday morning that he and his forces had arrived in the city of Rostov-on-Don.
Yevgeny Prigozhin posted a social media video about his arrival in the city, which is home to the headquarters of the Russian military overseeing the war in Ukraine, according to the Associated Press.
In the video, he claims his forces have taken control of military facilities in Rostov-on-Don, including the airfield. Other videos posted on social media showed military vehicles and tanks in the streets.
It was not immediately clear how he entered the city, which is heavily guarded amid Prigogine’s threats, and how many soldiers he brought with him.
Although Wagner played a key role in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Yevgeny Prigozhin has been at loggerheads with the Defense Ministry, accusing Russian military officials of starving his troops of weapons and ammunition.
In a series of angry video and audio recordings on Friday, Yevgeny Prigozhin accused Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu of ordering rocket attacks on the field camps of a private military contractor in Ukraine where the group is fighting on Russia’s behalf.
“This is not a military coup, but a march of justice,” Prigozhin declared. “The nation’s military leadership must curb the evil embodied.”
Yevgeny Prigozhin then called Shoigu “scum” and said he would be “stopped”.
According to state news agency Tass, the National Anti-Terrorism Committee, part of the Federal Security Services, will open a criminal investigation into Prigogine on charges of calling for an armed uprising. The report states that Russian President Vladimir Putin has been regularly updated on the situation.
According to Tass, Moscow appeared to take the threat seriously as it sent the National Guard and riot police to provide security for key facilities in Moscow, including transportation infrastructure and government agencies.