Wagner soldiers on ‘coffee break’? Video reported from Rostov in Russia | World news
The Wagner group – the military group led by Yevgeny Prigozhin – made international headlines on Saturday morning after launching an attack on Vladimir Putin and the Russian military leader. Videos of Wagner’s troops, tanks and armored vehicles roaring across the Russian border from Ukraine – where he leads Moscow’s war on Ukraine – recently filled the internet, as a special clip shared online by an independent military analyst of military forces ordering coffee in a restaurant in Rostov – the city Wagner said he took control of today.
The caption with the 29-second video is: “Wagner fighters order coffee in Rostov.”
A photo shared by Anne Applebaum, a staff writer for the American magazine The Atlantic, shows a half-dozen soldiers crossing a road with a tank in the background. That headline said: “Did Wagner fighters stop for coffee on their way into the Rostov MOD headquarters?”
Applebaum’s tweet confirmed the picture to Reuters via The New York Times.
Hindustan Times cannot independently verify the video or the image.
Meanwhile, other videos and images shared online – including by the Russian state-run TASS news agency – show military men surrounding administrative buildings in Rostov and tanks moving into the city center. . It was not, however, clear whether the men and equipment were Wagner’s forces or the regular Russian army.
The sanguine street cleaner
Earlier today another interesting video emerged – reportedly showing a Rostov road transporter working tirelessly with a convoy of Wagner tanks visible in the background.
That video was also shared by the previously mentioned military analyst, who wrote: “A little sobering scene in Rostov as road sweepers continue their Saturday morning duties.”
Rebellion in Rostov-on-Don
Prigozhin said Saturday that he had entered Russia and seized military equipment in Rostov – effectively taking control of the city that is the HQ to the country’s southern military.
Chief Wagner – who said Putin made the ‘wrong choice’, after being hit with accusations of treason by an angry president – has said his 25,000 fighters are ready to die.
What is the purpose of the government?
The developments come after Prigozhin accused Moscow of targeting his troops with artillery strikes that he said killed ‘a large number of our fighters’. “The board of directors of PMC Wagner has made a decision – where the military leader of the country must stay,” Prigozhin said in a series of angry voice messages.
He warned the Russians not to fight against his soldiers and called them to join him. “We need to put an end to this mess,” he said, adding, “this is not a military coup, but a journey of justice.”
What did Putin say?
Putin has called the actions of the Wagner Group a ‘military mutiny’ and an ‘act of rebellion’. He said that those who have taken up arms against the Russian military will face the consequences.
