<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Russian military contractor Wagner Group, has sparked an escalating war of words with his country’s military leaders, indicating that he was prepared to go “all the way” to confront them.</span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On Saturday, Prigozhin posted an audio message on the social media app Telegram, claiming that his fighters had crossed from Ukraine into the Russian border city of Rostov-on-Don — and that they would fight anyone who tried to stop them.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“We crossed state lines into Russia,” Prigozhin said, describing a peaceful entry into the country. “Border guards came out to meet us and hugged our fighters.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It was the latest provocation from Prigozhin since Russian authorities announced they would launch a criminal case against the mercenary chief, over threats he allegedly made to remove the country’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On Friday, Prigozhin accused Shoigu of ordering a rocket attack on Wagner’s field camps in Ukraine, where its soldiers are fighting on behalf of Russia. In an audio posted to Telegram, Prigozhin railed against the rocket blasts and the toll it has taken on Wagner forces.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“Huge numbers of our fighters, of our combat comrades, have been killed,” he said. “The evil that the military leadership of the country bears must be stopped. They neglect the lives of soldiers. They forget the word justice.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Prigozhin estimated that 2,000 of his fighter had been killed in the blasts, though he failed to provide evidence for that death toll. His message included a call to action that the Russian government has since interpreted as an appeal to mutiny.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“There are 25,000 of us, and we’re going to figure out why this chaos is happening in the country,” Prigozhin said, indicating that he had more forces in reserve and support from military members. “Everyone is welcome to join. We must end this disgrace.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Prigozhin’s words were a significant escalation in his long-running standoff with the Russian defence ministry. In response, the ministry issued a statement saying Prigozhin’s accusations were “not true and are an informational provocation”.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Prigozhin said his actions did not amount to a military coup but were rather “a march of justice”. Aljazeera</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>