ok what the fuck is happening in ukraine

Russian military is deploying troops in Rostov-na-Don.#Russia #coup #Rostov pic.twitter.com/npmYOynXIz

— (((Tendar))) (@Tendar) June 23, 2023

this seems pretty serious

Statement of Russian general Sergei Surovkin, telling Wagner forces to "Stop the columns, return them to the points of permanent deployment"
(Statement was made on video, posted by Russian media outlet RBC) pic.twitter.com/QGf1NxSNKs

— Steve Lookner (@lookner) June 23, 2023

yeah, maybe the friendly fire that took out the Wagner unit was actually intended for him

the missile hit? do we have proof that happened? I know everything is foggy right now!

Vladimir Alekseyev, another once Wagner-friendly general:

"This is a stab in the back of the country and the president. Only the president has the right to appoint the military leadership, and you are trying to attack his authority. This is a state coup. Come to your senses!" pic.twitter.com/Zz7QRqZ1AM

— max seddon (@maxseddon) June 23, 2023

wheres putin at

the fact that they're freaking out so much means that something real seems to be happening

"Until it is too late, it is necessary... to obey the will and the order"
bad translation? that's some cryptic shit

wheres putin at

where's prigozhin at?!

❗️New audio statement by Prigozhin (00:03 BST), stating Wagner "crossed state borders in all areas" and is now entering Rostov, promising to "destroy anything standing in their way":

"The current situation: today, we were dealt a missile strike. After this strike, helicopters…

— Dmitri (@wartranslated) June 23, 2023

Meantime on Russian TV

That's it for the emergency news broadcast. Now we are back to this boring fashion show.

Не, не лыком шитый и не пальцем деланный
И, бля, уж точно нет, не на помойке найденный
(real ones know) pic.twitter.com/ywolizCpEK

— max seddon (@maxseddon) June 23, 2023

This was not a twist I would have predicted, despite being in a sense entirely predictable.

In every picture, Prigozhin gives off big Mike from "Breaking Bad" vibes.

Republicans must be conflicted right now between their love of insurrections and love of Putin

— Michael McDonald (@ElectProject) June 23, 2023

found putin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkuWrmxN7hg

Wondering where this will leave Wagner's presence in Central African Republic (which, double-checking now, turns out to have its own Wikipedia entry) and elsewhere in the world.

pirozhgin's statement definitely shows serious intent to seize the initiative. interesting how his message clearly is making a strong play for inciting mutinies among the recent draftees and defections to his forces. his best hope is a rapid shift of troop sentiment in his favor.

Running guess right now from a lot of folks is that this is so much hot air, noting the sheer lack of any video evidence of shit going down beyond various defensive setups in Moscow. Still, who knows.

For instance:

Here are a few insights into the situation surrounding Prigozhin:

1️⃣ For a long time, Prigozhin has been out of direct contact with Putin, yet he's believed he was acting in Putin's interests "by default". His significant contributions in the war enhanced his sense of…

— Tatiana Stanovaya (@Stanovaya) June 23, 2023

doesnt seem like hot air, might be foolish tho

maybe hes trying to motivate something that just wont happen but declaring that youre doing an insurrection is a pretty all in move might as well actually do it, if you can

Pleas from Russian generals seem genuine; could they be panicking with no real evidence? Guess it's possible, or "until it's too late" might be signal to stand by, not really down (like Trump to Proud Boys). Or the general is on some level hoping it will be "too late" to stop the coup---thus removing/diminishing Putin and/or Wagnerites? So the whole Ukraine crusade will be at least diminished, *maybe* negotiated, before it turns into another Afghanistan defeat, as helped collapse the Soviet system.

feel like russia could def be panicking without out evidence, and prigozhin could be trying to rally the troops without much success

His methods are unsound

kind of funny to try to follow the news for a country that doesnt have any news

youre left like heres a tweet from a ukrainian race car driver

Reportedly Wagner PMC in Rostov. pic.twitter.com/SoTE6jZCmN

— Igor Sushko (@igorsushko) June 24, 2023

Prigozin and his men are basically dead men walking. Why not go out trying to bring it all down

For a guy who started as a caterer to the Kremlin, this is quite a shift

more service workers should start their own armies

Russia’s domestic intelligence service has opened a criminal case against Yevgeny Prigozhin...after he appeared to cross a red line with the Kremlin on Friday when he vowed to retaliate against the country’s military leadership for what he described as strikes launched against his forces.

The open confrontation was sparked by a series of Telegram posts on Friday, where Prigozhin accused Russian forces of striking a Wagner military camp. “A huge amount of our fighters were killed,” he said, in a radical escalation of a longstanding feud with Russia’s military leaders.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense denied the claims, calling it an “informational provocation.”

The mercenary, who has frequently criticized Russia’s traditional military hierarchy, then warned that retribution would be meted out. “We will deal with those who destroy Russian soldiers and return to the front, justice for the troops will be restored, and then justice for all of Russia,” he said.

He said that his forces would “destroy” any resistance, including roadblocks and aircraft, suggesting the disagreement could turn into warfare.

“There are 25,000 of us and we are going to find out why there is such chaos in the country. There are 25,000 of us waiting as a tactical reserve and a strategic reserve. It’s the whole army and the whole country, everyone who wants to, join us. We must end this debacle,” he said.

In a later Telegram post, Prigozhin said that his criticism of the Russian military leadership was a “march of justice” and not a coup. “This is not a military coup, this is a march of justice. Our actions do not interfere with the troops in any way,” Prigozhin said.

Glad he did it before Erik Prince had the chance to do the same here.

unclear whos tanks those are but generally you dont aim at a building if youre guarding it

Wagner forces have surrounded the headquarters of the Russian Southern Military district in Rostov.

It is really happening…#Coup #Russia #Rostov pic.twitter.com/ZuylmBYsHJ

— (((Tendar))) (@Tendar) June 24, 2023

i would not be down there filming on my phone tell you what

I was thinking "weird since it's currently 5:17 a.m. in Rostov" until looking up the sunrise time: 4:26 a.m.

gotta love the northern life baby

Hard to understate how insane this is. Rostov has over a million people, Russia's 11th most populated city and a military hub. It's like disgruntled Blackwater vets seizing San Diego against little to no resistance.

— Aric Toler (@AricToler) June 24, 2023

I don’t know much about the Wagner group or the guy running it… but what’s the end game here? If dude just wants out of this mess, it seems like a funny way to go about it

Meduza is a pretty solid news source so track this page:

https://meduza.io/en/live/2023/06/23/yevgeny-prigozhin-s-coup

Meanwhile, on Russian state TV: astrology pic.twitter.com/BeB39Ejs1z

— max seddon (@maxseddon) June 24, 2023

Sounds like they had a relatively small force that they took into Rostov and now they are occupying Russian military buildings. Not sure how reliable that is, but it's not nothing.

gotta love the northern life baby

further south than Seattle!

So is it possible that Putin arranged a false coup attempt to ... I dunno ... look stronger in crushing it?

I'm not saying I think this is happening, I'm just trying to figure out an alternative explanation for what we're "seeing" is.

I bet we'll have alternative options by morning.

An extraordinary video of Prigozhin taking over the HQ of the Southern Military District in Rostov, telling the deputy defense minister and the deputy head of GRU that he’s marching onto Moscow to save Russia, and that he shot down three helicopters. pic.twitter.com/iEQzBhpbS4

— Yaroslav Trofimov (@yarotrof) June 24, 2023

https://liveuamap.com/en/2023/24-june-russian-tactical-aviation-bombing-wagner-troops-with

liveuamap has Wagner troops being bombed on the M4 Highway, though they have it between Rostov and Voronezh (which they apparently both have). Rybar saying same, but not much in the way of footage if so

So is it possible that Putin arranged a false coup attempt to ... I dunno ... look stronger in crushing it?

I'm not saying I think this is happening, I'm just trying to figure out an alternative explanation for what we're "seeing" is.

Nothing from Kadyrov yet?

lol speaking of tiktok generals - he has (apparently) come out on telegram against Prigozhin, saying now is not the time or something like it.

i mean, he's always been quite canny about his positioning. ie nowhere near the front line but with LOTS OF VIDEOS showing how enthusiastic they are.

RAW era russia is unmatched

for anyone interested i did put together some prigozhin links a while ago (ie not completely up to date) here.

eg this from March:

CHANGES AT WAGNER

In a video released on🇷🇺Telegram, Prigozhin says “after the capture of Bakhmut, Wagner Group will change and become an ‘army with an ideology.’”

The ideology is, cryptically, “to fight for justice.”

What does that mean?

If I was Shoigu, I would be concerned. pic.twitter.com/N5hgpPRcMX

— Jason Jay Smart (@officejjsmart) March 10, 2023

Or this from the WSJ:

Early on, Mr. Prigozhin gained a reputation for showy stunts, once shooting at mannequins draped in American flags. He then covered them in ketchup, took photos and leaked them to Russian media outlets, said people with knowledge of the stunts.

further south than Seattle!

― anvil, Saturday, June 24, 2023 12:07 AM (five hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

uh no lol

and a nice piece on the 'aesthetics and marketing of the Wagner Group' here.