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Prominent Wagner Group supporters have warned that Vladimir Putin will be overthrown and replaced by internationally-recognised war criminal Yevgeny Prigozhin. As the mercenaries occupy the
Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, allegedly “blocking” the military’s ability to communicate with and supply their armed forces in Ukraine, and Putin orders the “neutralisation” of these
rebels, Wagner Group commentators have vowed that “soon we will have a new President”. The extraordinary scenes unfolding in Russia are the culmination of months of back and forth between
Prigozhin and the two Kremlin officials leading the “special military operation”, namely defence minister Sergei Shoigu and chief of the Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov. AP Wagner, a
prominent Telegram channel with nearly 185,000 followers, was heavily critical of Vladimir Putin following his comments on Saturday morning denouncing Prigozhin. They wrote: “Pypa [Putin]
made the wrong choice. So much the worse for him. Soon we will have a new president. “To die for a Tuvan degenerate or for his drunken governor Gerasimov is the most ridiculous death
possible. “Move to the side of good. The most promising politician [Prigozhin] knows how to correct the situation and what needs to be done. “All Wagner PMC commanders and ordinary employees
are still loyal to the most promising politician and carry out the tasks that were assigned to them.” But officials across Russia have rallied behind President Vladimir Putin, publicly
reiterating their allegiance to the Kremlin and urging mercenary leader Prigozhin to back down. Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, said
that lawmakers “stand for the consolidation of forces” and support Putin after his address to the nation on Saturday. He added that fighters from Prigozhin’s Wagner group “must make the only
right choice: to be with their people, on the side of the law, to protect the security and future of the Motherland, to follow the orders of the Commander-in-Chief.” Maria Zakharova,
Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said in a Telegram post that “we have one commander in chief. Not two, not three. One. And he urged everyone to unite.” Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of
the Chechnya who in the past has sided with Prigozhin in his criticism of the military leadership, also expressed his full support for “every word of” Putin. He said that “the mutiny needs
to be suppressed.” So far, no Russian official has spoken out in support of Prigozhin. MORE TO FOLLOW...