Leader of Wagner: Putin Picked Wrong Path, Russia Will Have New President Soon

The commander of the Wagner Russian special forces, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said that Russian President Vladimir Putin chose the wrong path and that Russia will soon have a new president, according to a statement and a video attributed to him on Telegram.

Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed, on Saturday, the "Wagner" military group to take strict and harsh measures in the wake of the group's declaration of rebellion against the army leadership.

The Russian president referred to the announcement of an anti-terror operation in the capital, Moscow, and other Russian cities, describing the armed rebellion as a "serious crime" "at a time when Russia is fighting hard for its future and confronting the aggression of the Ukrainian Nazis and the West."

Putin said that the current time requires us to combine efforts. Everything that weakens us must be thrown into the trash.

He stressed that "this is a rebellion against the people and against the comrades who are fighting on the front," stressing that "this is a stab in Russia's back."

He added that Russia would not allow the country to be dragged into civil war, saying the rebellion was "a betrayal of the homeland and the people."