'Ready To Die': Russian Mercenary Group Vows To Topple Military, Moscow Accuses It Of Starting 'Civil Conflict'

Wagner chief, who claimed that his forces had shot down a Russian military helicopter, has said that his troops were prepared to give their lives as he vowed to topple Russia's military leadership.

The chief of mercenary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who claimed that his forces had shot down a Russian military helicopter, has said that his troops were prepared to give their lives as he vowed to topple Russia's military leadership, as reported by the news agency AFP. "All of us are ready to die. All 25,000, and then another 25,000," he said, as quoted by AFP. "We are dying for the Russian people," he said. Reacting to Prigozhin, Federal Security Service in a statement said that his statements and actions are in fact a call to start an armed civil conflict on the territory of the Russian Federation.

“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," the Russian security agency’s statement read, as quoted by The Guardian. In a challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Prigozhin urged Russians to join his forces and punish Moscow’s military leadership. Anti-Kremlin figure Mikhail Khodorkovsky also urged Russians to support Wagner chief, as reported by AFP.

Earlier, Prigozhin had stated in a new audio message that the helicopter had opened fire at a civilian column. It was shot down by units of PMC Wagner. "A helicopter has just now opened fire at a civilian column. It has been shot down by units of PMC Wagner," Prigozhin said in a new audio message. However, he did not provide any details and the claims could not be verified. Yevgeny Prigozhin had also said that his units, which have for months spearheaded an assault in eastern Ukraine, had entered the southern Russian region of Rostov.

Following Prigozhin’s claims of entering the southern border region, Russian authorities in Rostov urged residents to stay home, as reported by AFP.

Prigozhin accused Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov of ordering strikes against his units even though they were moving among civilian vehicles. According to AP, Prigozhin claimed that Valery Gerasimov scrambled warplanes to hit Wagner’s convoys, which were driving alongside ordinary vehicles.

The Wagner forces have played an important part in Russia's war in Ukraine, capturing Bakhmut, the site of the bloodiest and longest battles. Prigozhin, on the other hand, has been increasingly critical of Russia's military leadership, accusing it of incompetence and depriving his troops of weapons and ammunition.

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