Wagner fighter breaks silence as he opens up about Russian mutiny

A Wagner Group fighter has defined the half he performed within the tried coup towards Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The fighter stated the group’s soldier’s “didn’t have a clue” what was happening as chief Yevgeny Prigozhin staged a navy revolt by sending troops into Rostov after which advancing in the direction of Moscow.

The Wagner fighter stated troopers acquired a name to hitch a gaggle leaving Ukraine on June 23. The name reportedly got here from a commander who as performing on orders from Prigozhin and the Wagner Command Council.

The junior commander, who gave a rare interview with BBC Russian, was resting in barracks within the Russian-occupied Luhansk area of Ukraine when the decision got here in.

Named by the BBC as Gleb, he stated the decision advised Wagner members it was a “full deployment” and they might be “forming a column,” though he claims troopers had been uncertain the place they might be heading.

He says they encountered no resistance as they made their manner into Rostov, crossing the Russian border. He stated: “I didn’t see any border guards. But the traffic police saluted us along the way.”

Telegram channels linked to Wagner nonetheless declare border guards on the Bugayevka checkpoint had laid down their weapons because the fighters arrived.

Gleb advised the BBC his group got orders to encompass all of the regulation enforcement company buildings in Rostov-on-Don earlier than occupying the navy airport.

Gleb says his unit had been advised to take management of the regional workplaces of the Federal Security Service (FSB). He says the constructing “appeared empty” as they arrived.

But, after half an hour, a door opened and two folks got here out providing to “make a deal”. Gleb recollects: “I said, ‘What’s there to make a deal about? This is our city’.

“So we simply agreed that we would go away one another alone. They got here out to smoke every so often.”

Journalists in Russia report Wagner fighters would fly drones over buildings and then surround them. No-one was allowed to leave, although delivery couriers were allowed in with food.

As fighters were advancing, Prigozhin was reportedly at the Russian army’s Southern Military District headquarters meeting high-ranking military officials. There he demanded Russia hand over the Chief of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu.

Gleb says another column of Wagner fighters were marching on through Russia as discussions went on. Led by rarely seen Wagner founder Dmitry Utkin, the group were on the move.

Gleb however says fighters were unsure what Prigozihn intended to do. Instead he says, they learnt the latest updates from their leaders via Telegram.

As the uprising went on, pictures broadcast across the globe showed the fighters chatting to smiling families living in Rostov. Gleb says this was “the cons,” a reference to the variety of prisoners employed to assist the battle with Ukraine.

For the established members of Wagner, he says the foundations are extra strict. Several ex-fighters reportedly advised the BBC they would be killed if they spoke out.

In the evening of June 24, Gleb said they received a message to return back to their base. It was on the way back they learned Prigozhin could face criminal charges – which were subsequently dropped – and had fled to Belarus.

They also discovered Wagner fighters would not face action for their role in the mutiny. Although Gleb says their future now remains unclear, having been told to stay in their barracks.

The so-called Luhansk People’s Republic, pro-Russian separatist militants, who are housing the group now awaits news of their future, particularly what will happen to the weapons and ammunition.

When asked why he doesn’t leave Wagner to secure his future, Gleb simply said: “My contract hasn’t expired but.”