Wagner boss calls for Russian military ouster, Kremlin launches criminal probe

Yevgeny Prigozhin called for the armed ouster of Russia's defence minister for allegedly ordering a rocket strike on Wagner troops, prompting the Kremlin to open a criminal probe.

The owner of the Wagner private military contractor escalated his direct challenge to the Kremlin on Friday, calling for an armed rebellion aimed at ousting Russia’s defense minister. The security services reacted immediately by opening a criminal investigation into Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Prigozhin posted a series of angry video and audio recordings in which he accused Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu of ordering a rocket strike Friday on Wagner’s field camps in Ukraine, where his troops are fighting on behalf of Russia.

Prigozhin said his troops would now punish Shoigu in an armed rebellion and urged the army not to offer resistance.

“This is not a military coup, but a march of justice,” Prigozhin declared.

The Defense Ministry denied carrying out the rocket attack.

The National Anti-Terrorism Committee, which is part of the Federal Security Services, or FSB, said he would be investigated on charges of calling for an armed rebellion. The state news agency Tass said President Vladimir Putin was kept informed.

The FSB urged Wagner’s contract soldiers to arrest Prigozhin and refuse to follow his “criminal and treacherous orders.” It called his statements a “stab in the back to Russian troops” and said they amounted to fomenting an armed conflict in Russia.

The deputy commander of Russia’s Ukraine campaign, General Sergei Surovikin, on Friday urged the fighters of the Wagner private militia to give up their opposition to the military leadership and return to their bases.