The chief of the Wagner mercenary group today claimed Russia may nuke its own territory in the Belgorod region where anti-Putin insurgents are causing havoc.
Yevgeny Prigozhin warned Russia might be forced to unleash nuclear weapons on its Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, where pro-Ukrainian Russian volunteer units have conducted a series of cross-border raids and reportedly taken hostages.
Prigozhin, who has been highly critical of the Russian army, said Putin‘s forces could be retreating from the region because the Kremlin wants to ‘drop a tactical nuclear bomb on their own territory’.
‘Could they have the vile idea of dropping a tactical nuclear bomb on their own territory? Is that why we are retreating in the Belgorod region, allowing them to advance, because it’s frightening to throw [a bomb] at someone else’s territory but we’ll throw one on our own?’ Prigozhin said in a video published online.
‘It’s a big question if the [nuclear bomb] would work properly,’ Prigozhin added in a dig at Russia’s military capabilities.
In recent weeks, pro-Kyiv paramilitary groups of Russians who have been fighting alongside Ukrainian forces have launched forays over the border into Russian territory, attacking the Belgorod region.
Yevgeny Prigozhin warned Russia might be forced to unleash nuclear weapons on its Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, where pro-Ukrainian Russian volunteer units have conducted a series of cross-border raids and reportedly taken hostages
Pictured: The launch of Russia’s Sarmat nuclear ballistic missile in April
Firefighters work at a house on fire following a shelling, which, according to the regional governor, was by Ukrainian forces, in the village of Sobolevka, Belgorod region, on June 2
At the same time, Ukrainian troops have been shelling the Russian region for weeks. Today, Ukrainian artillery struck the Russian town of Shebekino, about 4.5 miles north of Ukraine’s Kharkiv region.
The Ukrainian shelling and the cross-border incursions ravaged several towns and villages near the frontier and forced the evacuation of thousands of residents, angering Russian hawks who criticized the Kremlin for failing to strike back resolutely.
Prigozhin’s latest rant came after he slammed claims by the Russian defence ministry it had killed 1,500 of Kyiv’s soldiers in two days in the embattled city of Bakhmut as ‘absurd science fiction’.
Prigozhin, whose mercenary troops have spent months fighting in Bakhmut on behalf of the Kremlin, poured scorn on his country’s establishment after it claimed to have thwarted a second major offensive in Donetsk.
And Kyiv’s Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said today Ukrainian forces have advanced on Bakhmut and seen ‘some success’ on the battlefield.
Russia’s defence ministry had claimed yesterday Russian forces had repelled two major offensives in South Donetsk.
It claimed to have killed 1,500 troops and destroyed among other military equipment, eight main battle Leopard tanks supplied to Ukraine by its Western allies and 109 armoured vehicles.
‘Having suffered heavy losses the day before, the Kiev regime reorganized the remnants of the 23rd and 31st mechanized brigades into separate consolidated units, which continued offensive operations,’ the ministry said on Telegram.
‘A complex fire defeat was inflicted by army forces, assault and operational-tactical aviation, missile forces and artillery, as well as heavy flamethrower systems.’
But this was quickly, and very publicly, doubted by Prigozhin, who has repeatedly lambasted senior officials in the Kremlin, the Russian Army and Vladimir Putin himself for perceived missteps in the war effort.
In remarks published on the Telegram channel of his press service, the 61-year-old said to kill that many Ukrainian troops would require daily gains of 150km (93 miles).
‘I therefore believe that this is simply wild and absurd science fiction,’ said Prigozhin.
Totting up the figures provided by the ministry would imply ‘we have already destroyed the entire planet five times over,’ he added sarcastically.
Prigozhin last week lambasted Russia’s military leaders after Ukrainian armed forces managed to retake settlements on the outskirts of Bakhmut.
Prigozhin said it was a ‘disgrace’ that Kyiv‘s troops were able to push back Russian lines and seize Berkhivka, a town in the northern suburbs of the embattled city.
Prigozhin’s Wagner group just last month managed to wrest Bakhmut out of Ukrainian hands after months of brutal fighting reminiscent of World War I trench warfare, with tens of thousands killed on both sides.
Ukrainian soldiers ride an APC on the frontline near Bakhmut, the site of fierce battles with the Russian troops in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Monday
Ukrainian soldiers fire at the Russian air target on the frontline near Bakhmut on Monday
The mercenary figurehead hit out at Russia’s defence minister Sergei Shoigu and army chief Valery Gerasimov, taunting them and urging them to go to the frontlines and see the failures for themselves as the armed factions spiral towards civil war.
‘Now part of the settlement of [Berkhivka] has already been lost, the troops are slowly falling back. What a disgrace!
‘Shoigu, Gerasimov, I urge you to come to the front, raise your pistols at your men to make them go forward. Come on, you can!
‘And if you can’t, then you will die as heroes.’
Prigozhin has launched several verbal tirades at Putin’s military leaders. He has accused them of ordering their troops to retreat from their positions and leaving Wagner fighters unprotected on the frontlines.
On Tuesday last week , Prigozhin unleashed an explosive tirade of abuse at Vladimir Putin‘s cronies after Moscow was attacked by suspected Ukrainian kamikaze drones.
In a furious 70-second rant, Prigozhin screamed vulgar insults at Russia’s defence officials, whom he described as ‘smelly scumbags’ and ‘b*******’.
The Wagner boss said he was ‘deeply outraged’ by Putin’s troops doing ‘f*** all’ to prevent explosive drones falling on the Russian capital this morning. Shortly after, Putin claimed that Moscow’s air defence system worked ‘satisfactorily’.
Known for his foul-mouthed rants, Prigozhin, who handed Bakhmut over to Russia’s army last week, was translated as shouting: ‘Smelly scumbags! What are you doing? Get your a**** up from the offices you’ve been put in to protect this country.
‘You are the Ministry of Defence. You’ve done f*** all in order to advance. Why the f*** are you allowing these drones to fly to Moscow? Who gives a s*** that they are flying to your homes on Rublyovka! Let your houses burn.’
‘And what should ordinary people do when drones with explosives crash into their windows? So as a citizen, I am deeply outraged that these scum sit quietly with their fat a**** smeared with expensive creams.
‘And that’s why I think the people have every right to ask them these questions, these b*******.
‘But I have already warned about this many times, but no one wants to listen. Because I’m angry and I upset bureaucrats who have a great life.’
His astonishing meltdown came after several buildings in the wealthy suburbs of Moscow were damaged by suspected Ukrainian kamikaze drones, just hours after Putin unleashed yet another volley of strikes on Kyiv.
Prigozhin’s outbursts highlight the rift inside the Kremlin forces fighting Ukraine, and some analysts see civil war as a possibility in Russia if Putin loses the war.
Despite huge losses, and a ban on recruiting prisoners from Russia’s penal colonies, Prigozhin is still thought to have up to 60,000 men at his disposal.
Wagner is one of several private armies in Russia. Chechen warlord leader Ramzan Kadyrov controls a heavily armed group of his own, and Russian energy giant Gazprom has set up its own private military company.
