DEVELOPING STORY: Wagner chief says he is inside Rostov army HQ, controls city’s military sites
This screengrab from handout video taken on June 24, 2023 courtesy of @na_laite_23 on Instragram shows unidentified armoured vehicles on a street which have been geolocated by AFP as the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don. Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner mercenary group, said on June 24 he had crossed into Russia with his forces to topple Moscow’s military leadership, saying he and his 25,000 fighters were “ready to die”. (Photo by Handout / @na_laite_23 / UGC / AFP)
MOSCOW, June 24, 2023 (AFP) – The head of Wagner mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin announced Saturday that he was inside the army HQ in southern Russia’s Rostov-on-Don and that his fighters control the city’s military sites, including an aerodrome, after vowing to bring down Moscow’s top brass.
“We are inside the (army) headquarters, it is 7:30 am (0430 GMT),” Prigozhin said in a video on Telegram. “Military sites in Rostov, including an aerodrome, are under control,” he added.