Putin Defectors Fighting for Ukraine Invite Wagner Troops To Switch Sides

Russian fighters serving in the Ukrainian Armed Forces are inviting Wagner Group troops to switch sides and join them in their fight against Vladimir Putin's forces to avenge the death of their leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin.

"You are facing a serious choice now—you can stand in a stall of Russia's defense ministry and serve as watchdogs for executors of your commanders or take revenge," Denis Kapustin, commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC) said in a video appeal released late on Thursday.

RVC is one of two Russian rebel groups that crossed from Ukraine into Russian territory—the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine—in May this year. RVC says its members include Russians fighting on Ukraine's side and against the Kremlin regime, and the other rebel group, the Freedom of Russia Legion is made up of defectors from the Russian armed forces and Russian and Belarusian volunteers.

Newsweek has contacted Russia's Foreign Ministry via email for comment.

Kapustin's video address was released a day after Russian authorities said a private jet belonging to Prigozhin, which had been traveling from Moscow to St. Petersburg, crashed near the village of Kuzhenkino in Russia's Tver region. All 10 people on board were killed, including Prigozhin and the Wagner Group's co-founder, Dmitry Utkin, authorities said.

The crash came exactly two months after Prigohzin led a failed uprising against the Kremlin's top brass, in what he described as a "March of Justice." It marked the most serious challenge to Putin's rule since he came to power in 1999.

The cause of the crash wasn't immediately clear, although some reports suggest the jet was downed by Russian air defenses. Ukraine has denied responsibility, and the Kremlin said on Friday that speculation Prigozhin had been killed on Putin's orders was an "absolute lie."

There has been no official confirmation that the Wagner Group chief's body has been found or identified. A criminal case has been opened into the crash, Russia said.

"To take revenge you need to switch to Ukraine's side," Kapustin said, urging Wagner Group members who "have not committed war crimes" to "join our ranks."

Kapustin invited Wagner Group members to finish the "meat grinder" of the war together "and then we'll march on Moscow."

Putin on Thursday broke his silence on Prigozhin's reported death, saying that the Wagner Group leader was a "talented person" who "made serious mistakes in life."

Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday that "there is now a great deal of speculation surrounding this plane crash and the tragic deaths of the plane's passengers, including Yevgeny Prigozhin."

"Of course, in the West, all this speculation is presented from a well-known angle," he said. "All of this is an absolute lie, and here, when covering this issue, it is necessary to base yourself on facts."

Putin's spokesperson added: "There are not many facts yet. They need to be established during the course of investigations."

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