CNN —Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin planned to seize two top Russian military officials when he launched a short-lived mutiny on Saturday, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing Western officials. Prigozhin’s plot involved the capture of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and top army general Valery Gerasimov when the pair visited a region along the border of Ukraine, the WSJ wrote. Wagner mercenaries took control of a key military base in the city of Rostov-on-Don, and his troops were approaching the Russian capital when Prigozhin called off his mutiny. There has been speculation about the role of senor Russian commanders as the mutiny got underway on Friday night. Prigozhin’s spectacular falling-out with Moscow’s high command appears to have stemmed from a declaration by the Russian Ministry of Defense that it would employ Wagner’s contractors directly.

Source: Wall Street Journal June 28, 2023 18:14 UTC