After the Wagner March on Moscow
Zelenskyj calls on Russians to overthrow Putin
06/24/2023, 10:13 p.m
On the occasion of the open power struggle in Russia between the Wagner group and the military leadership, Zelenskyj calls on the Russian population to fight against the Kremlin chief. The longer Putin is in the Kremlin, “the bigger the catastrophe will be,” says the Ukrainian president.
In view of the protests of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has called for the overthrow of President Vladimir Putin. “The longer this person is in the Kremlin, the greater the catastrophe,” said Zelenskyj in his daily video message – but this time in Russian and addressed to the Russians. The longer Russian troops are in Ukraine, the more devastation they will later bring to Russia. The victory of the Ukraine after the Russian invasion 16 months ago is “certain”, Selenskyj said again confidently.
At the same time, Zelenskyy called on the West to start supplying Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets and longer-range missiles regardless of Moscow. His country is protecting Europe from the “Russian chaos”. NATO should take in Ukraine, he demanded. “The summit in Vilnius in July is a historic opportunity for real solutions without looking at Russia,” the Ukrainian head of state underlined.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense had previously reacted with ridicule to the Wagner fighter uprising. “The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine is wondering why Russian soldiers are still in their muddy trenches instead of rushing to the aid of their comrades on both sides of the conflict,” the agency said in a statement on Twitter. “It would be far safer than confronting the Ukrainian army.”
On Friday evening, the long-smoldering power struggle between Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozchin and the Russian military leadership escalated. Wagner Troupe fighters invaded Russia from Ukraine with the aim of overthrowing the military leadership in Moscow. The Wagner mercenaries took control of military installations in Rostov. Wagner fighters approached Moscow within a few hundred kilometers before turning back.
The Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maljar spoke of a “unique opportunity” for Kiev with regard to the uprising. The commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, Valery Zalushny, assured that the Ukrainian counter-offensive to push back the Russian army was going “according to plan”.