Russian Coup Attempt?

[Mulva]

Not sure if this should be own thread or if the Ukraine War thread could be re-opened...if early reports are to be believed, looks like Wagner may be attempting a Coup.

Not sure how much of the following is true, straight out lie, or exaggerated, but this is what is being reported:

- Russian forces striking Wagner camps with missiles
- Military vehicles on the streets of Rostov and now Moscow
- Russian stock exchange taking a hammering
- Internet now mostly unavailable in Russia
- Military base on fire near Moscow

Country armed with nukes possibly on the verge of collapse is quite a worry.

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by Mulva

Not sure if this should be own thread or if the Ukraine War thread could be re-opened...if early reports are to be believed, looks like Wagner may be attempting a Coup.

Not sure how much of the following is true, straight out lie, or exaggerated, but this is what is being reported:

- Russian forces striking Wagner camps with missiles
- Military vehicles on the streets of Rostov and now Moscow
- Russian stock exchange taking a hammering
- Internet now mostly unavailable in Russia
- Military base on fire near Moscow

Links would probably be helpful to back up your comments.

[Mulva]

Some of those things I listed are stuff a guy translated from Telegram channels (like military base on fire near Moscow).

Here is news report re the unrest

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqZMihMT-l4

This Tweet has some more details: https://twitter.com/GeoConfirmed/sta...5Es2_&ref_url=

In last few weeks Prigozhin has been posting lots of rants criticising the Russian military leadership and military, but not Putin. In fact, he was accusing the Russian military leadership of not telling Putin the real situation. I assumed that was Putin getting ready to scape-goat Shoigu if they failed in Ukraine - but if this is true then Prigozhin really needs stay away from open windows and not accept any cups of tea from Vlad.

Wonder if opportunity presents itself we will see the likes of Belarus, Georgia, Chechnya try to get out from under Russia

[Itsme]

I can confirm the Melbourne Herald Sun has an article about this.
Herald Sun headline topic "Wagner mercenary group shoots down Russian military helicopter sparking civil war threat"

With the link you will need a subscription to read.
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/wo...9ca587a3ef7f1c

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by Itsme

I can confirm the Melbourne Herald Sun has an article about this.
Herald Sun headline topic "Wagner mercenary group shoots down Russian military helicopter sparking civil war threat"

With the link you will need a subscription to read.
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/wo...9ca587a3ef7f1c

Or you could cut and paste it for those that don't subscribe.

[Itsme]

Originally Posted by GasoLane

Or you could cut and paste it for those that don't subscribe.

Here is HS latest update.

Wagner mercenaries claims to have taken control of Rostov military sites as civil war threat grows
The threat of a Russian civil war is growing by the hour as the head of Wagner mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin claims he has taken control of Russian military sites.
The head of Wagner mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin claims he is inside the army headquarters in the southern Russian region of Rostov in southern Russia, and that his fighters now control the city’s military sites.

Prigozhin earlier said his forces had crossed into Russia from the Ukrainian front, vowing to topple Russia’s military leadership, saying he and thousands of his fighters were “ready to die.”

Russia’s military headquarters in Rostov are a key logistical base for its offensive in Ukraine.

“We are inside the (army) headquarters, it is 7:30am (0430 GMT),” Prigozhin said in a video on Telegram, which appeared to show him inside the headquarters.

“Military sites in Rostov, including an aerodrome, are under control.”

He said that planes taking part in the Ukraine offensive “are leaving as normal” from the airfield.

“We took (the aerodrome) under control so that the attack aviation did not strike us, but strike Ukrainians,” Prigozhin said

He called on Russians not to believe what they are being told on state television.

“When they tell you that PMC Wagner interfered with work and that’s why something on the front collapsed. Things on the front collapsed not for this reason,” he said, addressing Russians.

“A huge amount of territory is lost. Soldiers have been killed, three, four times more than what it says in documents shown to the top (leadership).”

Prigozhin claimed Russia’s Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov “ran away from here when he found out that we are approaching the building.”

Authorities in Rostov have urged residents to stay at home.

Russia has opened a criminal case against Prigozhin, accusing him of trying to start an “armed rebellion.”

WAGNER VOWS TO BRING DOWN RUSSIA’S MILITARY LEADERSHIP

Moscow’s mayor has confirmed “anti-terror” measures had been undertaken in the Russian capital after the chief of mercenary group Wagner vowed to bring down the country’s military leadership.

Authorities in the regions of Rostov and Lipetsk also said security had been reinforced there.

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said his 25,000 strong private army would fight to the death in its mutinous mission sparked by Russian strikes that had targeted his men.

“All of us are ready to die. All 25,000, and then another 25,000,” Yevgeny Prigozhin said in a new audio message. “We are dying for the Russian people.”

The escalating events threaten to erupt into a civil war and place Russian President Vladimir Putin into the thick of his biggest crisis since he invaded Ukraine in 2021

In response to Wagner’s turnaround, anti-Kremlin figure Mikhail Khodorkovsky has publicly urged Russians to support Prigozhin against the Russian military might.

“We need to help now, and then, if necessary, we will fight this one, too,” Khodorkovsky, a former oil tycoon who fell foul of the Kremlin, wrote on social media. He said it was important to back “even the devil” if he decided to take on the Kremlin.

“And yes, this is just the beginning.”
Prigozhin, 62, earlier claimed to have downed a Russian military helicopter saying the Kremlin’s forces had launched strikes on his own men.

“A helicopter has just now opened fire at a civilian column. It has been shot down by units of PMC Wagner,” he said.

Prigozhin’s mutiny is the most audacious challenge to President Vladimir Putin since the start of the offensive in Ukraine last year and his private army is largely responsible for Russia’s successes early on its invasion of Ukraine.

Prigozhin said in a video posted to social media that his forces had entered the southern Russian region of Rostov but did not provide any immediate proof.
Russian authorities confirmed they had tightened security measures in several regions in response to what they labelled as an “armed rebellion”.

“A decision has been taken to reinforce security measures in the region,” said Igor Artamonov, governor of the Lipetsk region south of Moscow.

“I ask everyone to remain calm.”

The region of Lipetsk is approximately 400km south of Moscow.
In a statement, the FSB said: “Prigozhin’s statements and actions are in fact a call to start an armed civil conflict on the territory of the Russian Federation and a stab in the back to Russian servicemen fighting pro-fascist Ukrainian forces”.

While Prigozhin’s outfit has spearheaded much of Russia’s offensive in Ukraine, he has in recent months engaged in a bitter feud with Moscow’s military leadership and has repeatedly blamed Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff, for his fighters’ deaths.

Military commentators have noted that Prigozhin has been clever to target Russia’s military leaders and not directly go after President Vladimir Putin who they speculate has already gone into hiding.
The extraordinary developments came after Prigozhin accused Moscow of targeting his forces with deadly missile strikes.

“They (Russia’s military) conducted missile strikes at our rear camps. A huge number of our fighters, our comrades died,” Prigozhin said in a series of furious audio messages released by his spokespeople.

“The council of commanders of PMC Wagner has made a decision — the evil that the military leadership of the country brings must be stopped.”

He warned Russians against resisting his forces and called on them to join him, adding “there are 25,000 of us”.

“We need to put an end to this mess,” he said, adding, “this is not a military coup, but a march of justice”.
Earlier Saturday state news agency TASS reported that Moscow authorities had instituted tighter security measures, and local media published amateur footage showing armoured vehicles deploying throughout the capital, including near the defence ministry.

The Russian defence ministry said Ukrainian troops were taking advantage of the infighting to ready an assault near the east Ukraine hotspot of Bakhmut.

A prominent Russian general urged Prigozhin to call off efforts to remove the leadership of Moscow’s defence ministry.

“I urge you to stop,” Sergei Surovikin, commander of Russia’s aerospace forces, said in a highly unusual video address.

“The enemy is just waiting for the internal political situation to worsen in our country. Before it is too late, it is necessary … to obey the will and order of the popularly elected President of the Russian Federation”.
Kyiv said it was monitoring the infighting in Moscow.

“We are watching,” the Ukrainian defence ministry tweeted, while Ukraine’s military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said rival Russian factions had begun to “eat each other over power and money”.

Ukraine was also on high alert after new Russian missile strikes Saturday, with explosions reported in Kyiv and the eastern city of Kharkiv.

US President Joe Biden had been briefed on the situation in Russia and Washington “will be consulting with allies and partners on these developments”, National Security Council spokesman Adam Hodge said.
On Friday, Prigozhin said Moscow’s forces were retreating in Ukraine’s east and south following the start of Kyiv’s counteroffensive early this month.

That directly contradicted Putin’s account that Ukraine was suffering “catastrophic” losses and that there was a lull in fighting.

“We are washing ourselves in blood,” Prigozhin said.

“No one is bringing reserves. What they tell us is the deepest deception,” he added, referring to the Russian military and political leadership.

QUESTIONING MILITARY OPERATION
After years of operating in the shadows, Prigozhin has now admitted to running the elusive mercenary group Wagner and even interfering in US elections.

His forces, bolstered by tens of thousands of prison recruits, played a central role in Russia’s capture of the town of Bakhmut in the eastern region of Donetsk, the longest and bloodiest battle of the conflict.

However, this week he accused Moscow’s top brass of deceiving Russians about the offensive in Ukraine.

“Why did the special military operation begin?” he said. “The war was needed for the self-promotion of a bunch of bastards.”

Rarely has such a controversial figure shot to this degree of prominence on the Russian political stage under Putin.

Prigozhin rose from a modest background to become part of the inner circle around Putin.

He spent nine years in prison in the final period of the USSR after being convicted of fraud and theft.

In the chaos of the 1990s, he began a moderately successful business selling hot dogs.

From there he fell into the restaurant business and opened a luxury location in Saint Petersburg whose customers included Putin, then making the transition from working in the KGB to local politics.

However, in recent months, Prigozhin has become embroiled in a bitter power struggle with the defence ministry.

He has accused the Russian military of attempting to “steal” victories in Ukraine from his forces, and slammed Moscow’s “monstrous bureaucracy” for slowing military gains.

[Citroënbender]

This is interesting, it’s been clear for a while that western-aligned sources saw YP as emotionally volatile. I thought they were going to progressively guilt him into a simple personal suicide, a more high-tech version of the Rosners playing “Gloomy Sunday”.

That said and done, I’ll stick to ISW for “just the facts, ma’am”.

[yakcam]

Here's a long article about it on 9 news website...
https://www.9news.com.au/world/wagne...6-890051477041

This will be interesting (scary) to watch play out.

[CJR09]

https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/europe...a-step-too-far

[Mulva]

Mods please delete if posting link to another forum is frowned upon...there's a thread on Big Footy that is lively with lots of unverified tweets supposedly showing the convoy etc

https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threa...39383/page-240

Like this tweet: https://twitter.com/Maks_NAFO_FELLA/...5Es1_&ref_url=

[jaydee]

Geez I hope so, this BS with Ukrane has to stop.
Putin is a mushroom IMO.
Has no clue what's really happening.

[Mulva]

From this linked tweet: A video has surfaced showing Prigozhin at the Southern Military District HQ in Rostov-on-Don talking to (and HUMILIATING) Deputy Defense Minister Yunus-bek Yevkurov. He threatens to blockade Rostov and head for Moscow!

https://twitter.com/KevinRothrock/st...5Es1_&ref_url=

Poster on BF quipped that the Russian army was once considered 2nd best army in the world, then was joked to be second best army in Ukraine...and is now the second best army in Russia

[FairmontGS]

If Wagner is in control of Rostov then the whole Kherson peninsula is at threat and the Russian army regulars would start to retreat in panic.

You’d hope that Ukraine would be nimble enough to take advantage of this and collapse the Southern Front.

[Syndrome]

Remember our media is all pro-Ukraine so don't believe all that you read.

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by Syndrome

Remember our media is all pro-Ukraine so don't believe all that you read.

Were you expecting them to be pro Russia?

[Syndrome]

Originally Posted by GasoLane

Were you expecting them to be pro Russia?

That is a stupid question!

Neutral. But that is not possible in this day and age.

[Itsme]

Originally Posted by Syndrome

Remember our media is all pro-Ukraine so don't believe all that you read.

I think our media is factual in most content unless you want to listen to the Russian media.

[Fordman1]

Originally Posted by Syndrome

Remember our media is all pro-Ukraine so don't believe all that you read.

True, the 3 day “special military operation” is going to plan.

[CoupeKing]

Originally Posted by Syndrome

Remember our media is all pro-Ukraine so don't believe all that you read.

I usually give it 48 to 72 hours.

Hunter Biden pleads guilty.

Titan loses communication and it's headline news for 5 days.

[zilo]

Originally Posted by Syndrome

Remember our media is all pro-Ukraine so don't believe all that you read.

We don't have any media, we only have the American propoganda.

It's comical to think otherwise.

Originally Posted by Itsme

I think our media is factual in most content unless you want to listen to the Russian media.

yeah right...Assange is a rapist, Britney Higgins was raped., Trump is a rapist.Iraq soldiers eat babies.

Sure..trust our Gay-BC

[jaydee]

Originally Posted by zilo

We don't have any media, we only have the American propoganda.

It's comical to think otherwise.




yeah right...Assange is a rapist, Britney Higgins was raped., Trump is a rapist.Iraq soldiers eat babies.

Sure..trust our Gay-BC

Geez, I don't what news you watch. I watch SBS, then some local 7 and 9 for news in my area, plus a couple of channels from Europe.
Gave up on the ABC some time ago, just pushing it's own agenda.
I have to say I think overall the media news is pretty reliable, too easy to get caught out if they promote falsehoods.
Besides, they get their info from the governments media section usually, so every channel has the same story, unless they get a confidential source like they always do for the Royals.

[Itsme]

Originally Posted by zilo

yeah right...Assange is a rapist, Britney Higgins was raped., Trump is a rapist.Iraq soldiers eat babies.

Sure..trust our Gay-BC

What makes you think I watch BC, you have no fn clue! you just enjoy coming here stirring trouble like a troll.
Have a nice day.

PS: Talking about propaganda which countries propaganda do you follow?

[Citroënbender]

Personally, I preferred the 1982 Royal Koo.

[GO FURTHER]

Two implosions in one week... I was getting ready to stock up on popcorn.
Seems the latter is now a Fizzer.

But I wonder if Russians did empty the shelves of toilet paper?

[Mulva]

So, Wagner are still in Ukraine happily fighting the Nazi's then?

Russia should give in to the demands of Wagner to end the invasion of Russia and spare lives.

[FoxtrotGolfXray 5.0]

So, Putin has now offered more money to Wagner than what the west had offered?

[jaydee]

And as quickly as it started, it seems to have finished.

[T3rminator]

Wish Foxtel / Gov didn't ban the RT channel, so I can watch propaganda from both sides and make up my own mind.

All a bit strange though. The mercenaries were able to "march" freely to "within 200kms of Moscow". Civilians on the streets didn't seem bothered by it in the slightest. Prighozin is seen having a somewhat civilised conversation with the MOD after taking it over. And now he has a free pass to Belarus. All within the space of 24 hrs. Can we speculate that he could now train and build Belarus capabilities?

Oh, and now the yanks are saying they knew the coup was coming since 2 weeks ago.

[Citroënbender]

The Soviets Russians are freshening up old lines of less formal intelligence, it’s been more than a few weeks coming. I believe they are a bit unsettled.

[mad2]

Originally Posted by Citroënbender

The Soviets Russians are freshening up old lines of less formal intelligence, it’s been more than a few weeks coming. I believe they are a bit unsettled.

a bit?.