Is this a coup? What is Prigozhin doing in Russia?

This is simply a defining infinitesimal successful Russia's 16-month full-scale warfare successful Ukraine and perchance a situation to Vladimir Putin's grip connected power.

The Russian person has accused Wagner mercenary brag Yevgeny Prigozhin of betraying Russia with an equipped rebellion - "a stab successful the backmost of our country".

One of Russia's astir important figures, Prigozhin says his purpose is "not a subject coup but a march for justice".

For months Prigozhin has played a captious relation successful Russia's subject run successful Ukraine, recruiting thousands to his Wagner mercenary group, particularly from Russian jails.

He has agelong been successful an unfastened feud with the subject chiefs moving the war, but that has present turned into a revolt.

Wagner forces person crossed from occupied eastbound Ukraine into the large confederate Russian metropolis of Rostov-on-Don, and assertion to person taken power of its subject facilities.

President Putin says the concern is hard but has promised to bash everything to support Russia.

All claims of a subject coup are absurd, claims Prigozhin.

But what began arsenic a no-holds-barred enactment implicit the military's nonaccomplishment to proviso his mercenaries with capable kit and ammunition has present spilled implicit into a nonstop situation to the 2 men successful complaint of prosecuting the warfare - Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and equipped forces main Valery Gerasimov.

So acold this is not a coup, arsenic determination has been nary bid to prehend powerfulness from the government. But it is an effort to topple Russia's apical subject men and truthful a situation to the president's authority.

The full Moscow portion has been enactment connected an alert nether a "counter-terrorist cognition regime" and large events person been cancelled.

"There are 25,000 of us," Prigozhin claimed. "Everyone who wants, articulation us." That is not capable to endanger the president but it is simply a situation to the subject leadership.

Moving his forces crossed the borderline into Rostov, helium appears to person surrounded the subject HQ from wherever the warfare is being run, and claims some the curate and main of unit person fled.

Prigozhin has agelong been a adjacent state of President Putin and has flourished nether him, archetypal arsenic a affluent businessman and past arsenic a mercenary chief.

His Wagner fighters person died successful large numbers successful the bitter run to prehend Bakhmut successful eastbound Ukraine, which lasted months and was ne'er afloat achieved. Prigozhin blamed the subject apical brass for ammunition shortages, with graphic videos and expletive-ridden societal media rants exposing the failings and the fractures of Russia's subject successful Ukraine.

He ne'er straight targeted his choler astatine the president, but his sarcastic references to "happy grandfather" were wide seen arsenic indirect criticism. Last period helium asked however Russia could triumph if it turned retired that "this gramps is simply a implicit arsehole".

Then, successful a lengthy tirade connected 23 June helium told Russians that the full justification for their warfare was a prevarication and simply an excuse for "a tiny radical of scumbags" to beforehand themselves and deceive the nationalist and president.

Events person moved precise rapidly since then.

Prigozhin accused the subject of staging a deadly shelling connected his men successful Ukraine, but the subject denied it and helium failed to nutrient the benignant of grounds helium often does.

Late connected Friday helium announced his "march for justice" was nether way. His unit of 25,000 would beryllium conscionable a "tactical reserve" and the full of the service and the full state would beryllium their strategical reserve.

Gen Sergei Surovikin, lawman commandant of forces successful Ukraine, appealed to him to measurement backmost and taxable to President Putin's authority.

But by greeting Prigozhin's men had reached Rostov: "We are wrong [military] headquarters."

This is not a nonstop situation to Russia's warfare successful Ukraine oregon the president's leadership. But it is sufficiently superior for the Russian person to springiness a determined and uncompromising five-minute televised address.

Prigozhin has threatened not conscionable to acceptable up campy successful Rostov, but to caput towards Moscow if his subject demands are not met.

Until present helium has lone battled the subject enactment for accrued weapons supplies, present helium is taking connected the enactment itself.

Prigozhin has important nationalist enactment successful Russia and, adjacent if his situation does autumn apart, this is astatine the precise slightest a infinitesimal of situation for a subject that has relied connected his mercenaries successful Ukraine.

But this is besides a defining infinitesimal for the Putin enactment and a wake-up telephone for Russians. It is excessively soon to accidental however it volition end.