Russia in Crisis; Chechen Leader Issues Warning to Wagner Commander

Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Chechnya and an ally of Vladimir Putin, stated on Saturday that his forces are ready to assist in suppressing the rebellion of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the commander of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, and will resort to violence if necessary. According to Reuters, Kadyrov described Prigozhin's behavior as 'stabbing in the back' and urged Russian soldiers not to succumb to any form of 'provocation.' He mentioned that Chechen units are moving towards 'areas of tension' and will act to 'preserve Russian units and defend that country.' Kadyrov, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who commands military forces in Chechnya, was previously seen as an ally of Prigozhin and had agreed with some of Prigozhin's criticisms of the Russian military hierarchy. However, in recent weeks, Chechen commanders aligned with Kadyrov began to criticize Prigozhin's regular attacks against the Ministry of Defense. Yevgeny Prigozhin, who has long complained about the supply of military equipment for his group to fight the Ukrainian army by the Russian Ministry of Defense, announced on Friday that Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu had stabbed him in the back and caused the deaths of 'many' of his forces through missile attacks. The commander of this mercenary group, who claims that the Russian Defense Minister ordered missile strikes on Wagner's bases in Ukraine, told Russian army commanders: 'They deceitfully tricked us and betrayed us.' He then declared war on the Kremlin, stating that he would march towards Moscow with all his forces to hang Defense Minister Shoigu in Red Square and bury him next to Lenin.