Wagner Rebellion Explained
On 24 June, Vladimir Putin faced the biggest challenge in over two decades at Russia’s helm: a mutiny by a mercenary group fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the mercenary force known as the Wagner Group, took control of Rostov-on-Don, a city of a million people and main staging ground for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Several thousand Wagner fighters then advanced toward Moscow in a so-called “march for justice”, reportedly shooting down Russian army helicopters and a fighter jet. What Putin dubbed a “betrayal” came to an end a day after it began. Prigozhin announced he was turning around his forces within 200km of Moscow and going to Belarus, under a deal brokered by President Alexander Lukashenko.
Crisis Group experts discuss the implications of the rebellion for Putin’s rule, the war in Ukraine, Russian foreign politics and the country’s power projections abroad.
