Wagner Leader: Our Movement Exposed the Russian Army's Confusion

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner military group, broke his silence today in an 11-minute audio message on Telegram, stating that "the group's recent movement aimed to avoid the destruction of Wagner, not to overthrow the political power in Russia." He expressed regret over having to shoot down Russian aircraft. He said, "The goal was to register a protest against the ineffective conduct of the war in Ukraine, not to topple the government in Moscow. Our movement also revealed serious security issues in Russia." He continued, "We withdrew to save Russian blood. We did not attack anyone, but we were subjected to missile and helicopter fire." He confirmed that "the march to Moscow began due to the injustice we faced," noting that "there was a decision to dissolve the group on July 1." He added, "Russian cities welcomed us with flags, and we did not kill any Russian soldiers during our march and fully seized the city of Rostov." He pointed out that the manner in which his group managed to take Rostov in southern Russia without bloodshed, as well as sending an armed convoy 200 kilometers from Moscow, indicates the efficiency of his fighters.