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Akhmat fighters were stationed close to Wagner members, commander says

According to him, the Russian Defense Ministry leadership had warned the soldiers against engaging in fighting

© Alexander Reka/TASS, archive

GROZNY, June 27. /TASS/. Members of the Akhmat special forces unit deployed to the Russian southern city of Rostov-on-Don were stationed close to fighters from the Wagner private military company, said Apty Alaudinov, Deputy Commander of the 2nd Army Corps and Commander of the Akhmat unit.

"Some of our teams were stationed literally 500-700 meters from Wagner fighters," he told the Rossiya-1 TV channel. "In fact, we were prepared for any outcome," Alaudinov noted.

According to him, the Russian Defense Ministry leadership had warned the soldiers against engaging in fighting.

On the evening of June 23, several audio recordings were posted on Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Telegram channel. In one in particular, he claimed that his units had come under attack, for which he blamed Russia’s military authorities. The Russian Defense Ministry slammed the allegations of a strike on the PMC Wagner's "rear camps" as false. The PMC units that supported Prigozhin headed to Rostov-on-Don and toward Moscow. The Federal Security Service (FSB) launched a criminal probe into calls for armed mutiny.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a televised address to the nation on Saturday, described the Wagner group’s actions as betrayal. Later on Saturday, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, in coordination with Putin, held talks with Prigozhin resulting in the PMC turning its units around and returning to field camps. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that criminal charges against the Wagner chief would be dropped, while Prigozhin himself would "go to Belarus." Besides, the Russian authorities pledged not to prosecute the Wagner fighters involved in the mutiny, given their services on the frontline.

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