Incendiary statements by Prigozhin: the FSB calls for the arrest of the head of the Wagner Group

On Friday, the Russian security services called on fighters from the Wagner paramilitary group to arrest their leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who is accused of calling for an “armed civil conflict” by urging his men to rebel against the military leadership.

“The allegations published in the name of Yevgeny Prigozhin have no basis. The National Anti-Terrorism Committee of Russia said in a statement carried by Russian news agencies:

The FSB demanded that Wagner’s fighters arrest their commander, accusing him of advocating “civil armed conflict” through “criminal orders and treason”.

Russian President Vladimir Putin “is aware of all the events around (Yevgeny) Prigozhin. “Necessary measures are being taken,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted by TASS as saying.

Previously, Chief Wagner had claimed that the Russian strikes had caused “too many casualties” in the ranks of his group. They carried out missile strikes on our rear camps. “A very large number of our fighters have been killed,” Yevgeny Prigogne said in an audio message.

He promised to “respond” to these attacks, which he ordered, according to him, the Russian Defense Minister, stressing that he was not advocating a “military coup”, but rather wanted a “march for justice.”

The Russian Ministry of Defense responded in a press statement that these accusations “about” the alleged strikes launched by the Russian Ministry of Defense on the rear bases of the Wagner paramilitary group “do not correspond to reality and constitute a provocation.”

An influential Russian general, Sergei Surovikin, called on the Wagner fighters to return to their barracks. “I (you) ask to stop (…) before it is too late, it is necessary to obey the will and order of the elected president of Russia,” he said in a video posted on Telegram.