The leader of Russia’s Freedom Legion has told the Express.co.uk that his fighters are afraid of nothing and no one can stop them from seizing power and finishing off Putin.
His uncompromising remarks come in the wake of an aborted armed revolt by the Wagner militia boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, that stunned the Kremlin and raised the very real prospect of the end of Putin’s 23 year reign.
Prigozhin, often referred to as Putin’s chef, served up his own version of Hell’s Kitchen for his boss over the weekend.
Wagner units seized Rostov-on-Don, a city of more than a million people and home to the command of the Russian army’s Southern Military District, without having to fire a shot in anger.
They then raced north towards Moscow and came within striking distance of the capital before being ordered to turn back, after a last minute deal was struck between the warlord and Belarus President Aleksander Lukashenko.
Prigozhin later claimed he had no intention of overthrowing Putin and that his march on Moscow was aimed at highlighting the incompetence of Russia’s military leadership during the war, which has cost the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers.
In a forthright interview with the Express, the Freedom Legion’s top commander, whose nom de guerre is Caesar, said the Wagner mutiny had revealed Russia’s leader to be fatally weak and had exposed all the cracks in his “rotten state”.
He insisted that the Kremlin was there for the taking and that his fighters would not turn back when they embarked on their march to liberate Russia from Putin’s tyranny.
“After Prigozhin’s unsuccessful mutiny, everyone understands that Putin is very weak and power is lying on the floor,” he explained.
“With decisive action, it is possible to seize it. It’s time to understand we have to put an end to Putin’s regime – otherwise he will drag the entire planet with him into hell.
“We are Russia’s only hope for liberation, and the only force that can put an end to this nightmare.
“We want to stop the war, and then clean up our country – so she no longer behaves like a mad dog that runs around trying to bite its neighbours.
“We are gathering our strength and getting ready. We are not afraid of anything and no one will stop us – neither Putin’s nuclear weapons, nor Prigozhin or Kadyrov or Rosgvardia.
“It’s just a question of time before our banner is flying above the Kremlin.”
Caesar, who led units of the Legion in cross-border raids into Russia’s Belgorod region in late May, claimed that regional elites were already deserting Putin and reaching out to the rebels.
He said they were providing the Legion with information and helping them with their finances.
The rebel leader believes that Putin’s actions during the mutiny will have convinced more Russian elites that his authority is slipping away and his fabled power vertical is just an illusion.
Much has been said about whether the Wagner uprising will have a detrimental effect on Russian army morale and lead to mass desertions from the frontlines.
Before launching his assault on Russia, Prigozhin accused Russia’s military chiefs of brazenly lying about the reasons for going to war with Ukraine.
Caesar observed that many officers and soldiers will have taken a dim view of the fact that Putin and his top generals went AWOL during the mutiny, conspicuous only by their absence.
“Prigozhin’s mutiny has shown them (soldiers) that they are dying in a war that no one needs,” he said.
“Putin has said for a very long time that enemies surround Russia , that Ukraine is threatening our country – but the reality is as soon as he faced a dangerous situation, he ran away like a coward and a rat leaving a sinking ship.
“So of course Russian soldiers will have much less desire to fight for such a leader.
“Many will ask themselves whether they will join the next march on Moscow, if it’s led by saner and more reliable people.”
When that will be, the rebel commander refused to reveal, saying he could not divulge such sensitive information.
However, he added: “I know for sure we will do things far more intelligently, with a harder fist and more decisively. And we will see it all through.
“I can assure you that by the end of next year, Russia will have new leaders.”
