A group of Russian militants fighting alongside Ukraine has called on the Wagner Group, the Russian private military company, to change its allegiance and join them in avenging the death of its leader and founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, and his deputy, Dmitry Utkin. Russian aviation authorities reported that Prigozhin, Utkin, and eight others were aboard a private plane that crashed north of Moscow on Wednesday, resulting in their deaths.
Denis Kapustin, leader of the Russian Volunteer Corps, stated in a video address released late Thursday, "You now face a fateful choice; you can either remain in the hangar of the Russian Ministry of Defense and act as guard dogs for the killers of your leaders, or seek revenge for them." He added, "If you want to take revenge, you must switch to the side of Ukraine."
After 24 hours of silence, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his "sincere condolences" to the families of all ten victims who died in the crash and praised Prigozhin, describing him as a "talented businessman." Kapustin, who is from the far-right, established the armed group a year ago. The Russian Volunteer Corps fights alongside Ukraine and has claimed responsibility for several military attacks on Russian border areas.
In his address to Wagner fighters, he stated, "Let's end the bloody meat grinder of the special military operation," using the term Moscow employs to refer to its invasion of Ukraine. He continued, "And then we will crawl to Moscow, and this time we will not stop 200 kilometers from the Moscow Ring Road but will continue until the end."
