14 Russian generals support Prigozhin, not Putin − Ukraine's Defence Council Secretary

At least 14 Russian generals support Wagner commander Yevgeny Prigozhin and do not want to follow Russian president Putin, Oleksii Danilov, Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council (NSDC) of Ukraine, has said.

Source: Danilov in an interview with Reuters

Quote from NSDC Secretary: "There are so many commanders who sympathise with Wagner and don't want to follow Putin."

Details: Danilov added that he knows of 14 Russian generals who support Prigozhin.

The media outlet notes that it could not verify his account about the generals independently. At the same time, Reuters journalists spoke with Russians who witnessed the mutiny of the Wagner fighters, and the publication writes that people support Prigozhin.

In particular, residents of Boguchar, a garrison town located along the M-4 motorway where a Russian unit is stationed said that the military there did nothing to resist, and that a significant number of people in the town, including people serving in the military, felt sympathy with the Wagner force.

Reuters reports that one woman said of Prigozhin: "Who else should we support? At least there's one worthy person who was not frightened."

Another female resident also said Wagner had widespread support in the town, and that many Wagner fighters are from Boguchar. "They're all friends," she said.

Previously: The Russian president's spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Vladimir Putin met with the founder of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, after the mutiny. The meeting lasted for almost three hours.

Background:

• On the evening of 23 June, Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed that the regular Russian army had launched a missile strike on the Wagner mercenaries’ rear camps. He, therefore, deployed 25,000 of his mercenaries "to restore justice".

• On the morning of 24 June, Prigozhin claimed that his forces had taken control of military facilities in Rostov-on-Don, including the air base, and were heading "to Moscow", and that his soldiers had shot down at least three Russian helicopters. Wagner mercenaries also seized military facilities in the Russian city of Voronezh.

• Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia was "fighting for survival" and that attempts were being made to "organise a rebellion" in the country.

• The Office of the President of the Russian Federation anticipated that Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Wagner Group fighters would likely reach Moscow’s outskirts in the next few hours, with fighting expected near Russia’s capital. Ukrainian intelligence had information that Putin had urgently left Moscow for his residence in Valdai. The Wagner Group convoy was spotted 400 km from Moscow.

• On the evening of 24 June, following a conversation with self-proclaimed Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Prigozhin announced that his mercenaries were turning their convoys around and going back to set up field camps. Later, it was reported that the criminal case against Prigozhin was to be closed and he would "go to Belarus".

• Russian pro-war media and Telegram channels were claiming that between 13 and 20 people died as a result of the Wagner mutiny.

• The Russian army also lost equipment: according to Important Stories, the losses comprise three Mi-8 electronic-warfare helicopters, one Mi-8 transport helicopter and two attack helicopters, a Ka-52 and a Mi-35M, as well as an Il-22M command post aircraft and two armoured cars, a Kamaz and a Tiger. The Wagner Group lost two UAZs, one KAMAZ and a VPK-Ural armoured car.

• At the same time, the Russian service of Radio Svoboda (Liberty), citing estimates made by the Dutch project Oryx, reports that the Wagnerites shot down an Il-22M aircraft and six Russian army helicopters during the mutiny.

• Putin acknowledged the death of Russian pilots during the rebellion but made no high-profile statements on the episode. The Russian dictator did call a meeting with the heads of law enforcement agencies, but he merely thanked them for "suppressing" the Wagner Group mercenaries’ rebellion. Putin also thanked the Wagnerites for "not going on to commit fratricidal bloodshed".

• Russian media previously reported that Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner Group, arrived in St Petersburg in person on 4 July, where weapons seized during searches were returned to him. 

• It was also reported that Prigozhin was given back RUB 10 billion [approx. US$111,313 million – ed.] which security officials had found during searches in St Petersburg following his attempted rebellion.

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