THIS is the dramatic moment a military base in Russia went up in flames.
The raging fire lit by “saboteurs” destroyed the notorious Wagner’s Army military base in Molkino, in the Krasnodar region.
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Footage shows flames burning the former base of Yevgeny Prigozhin, who once headed Wagner Group.
The blaze gutted the administrative buildings, with local media gulagu.net suggesting it was an arson attack.
They said: “Someone found it important to destroy any traces and evidence of the activities of this criminal organisation [Wagner], financed by the Kremlin.”
Early reports indicated an attack by kamikaze drone, and some blamed Ukraine .
However, Wagner-linked Telegram channel Thirteenth said its sources indicated this was “sabotage”.
“Documentation, forms, personal files, communication equipment worth hundreds of millions was burned.”
The military base was vacated by Wagner last year and has since been occupied by Putin’s Africa Corps, a military force run by the Russian defence ministry.
The corps is intended to protect Russian military and economic interests in African countries.
Mercenary leader Prigozhin was killed when his business jet exploded in the sky near Moscow in a suspected assassination by the Kremlin.
The warlord provided tens of thousands of troops to the Russian army until he led a failed coup against Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, whom he was once close to.
Despite the mercenary group leader’s death, a desperate Vlad has previously turned to the ruthless group to help bolster Russia’s failing forces.
The military base blaze is the latest setback facing the Russian army, after a Ukraine drones blasted a massive Russian ammo dump – causing an apocalyptic explosion.
Mushroom clouds and igniting shells lit up the night sky at the facility in Krasnodar region after the pinpoint strike by Ukrainian kamikaze drones.
The site is alleged to house a giant stock of North Korean missiles and weapons sent by Putin ally Kim Jong Un inside.
When the drones blasted the ammo a dramatic mushroom cloud filled the air and sparked huge secondary detonations in Tikhoretsk.
But Ukraine also hit a new ammunition silo complex at Toropets in Tver region.
The separate blast is rumoured to have taken place at a secret Putin facility where he keeps his prized nuclear weapon – the “Satan-2” rocket.
Ukrainian soldiers in the war-torn Donestk region have also released dramatic footage of a battle against Putin’s troops.
Incredible footage shows the relentless battle on the streets of Toretsk.
The two-minute video shared on X, formerly Twitter, shows Ukrainian units of the Lyut Assault Brigade at work as they wipe out enemy troops.
The action-packed clip begins with Kyiv’s brave men heading to the battleground in a truck before they unload the vehicle and head off to fight.
Meanwhile, data shows that at least 70,000 Russian troops have been killed since the Kremlin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine two years ago.
But the figure could be far higher if casualty figures hidden by Russia are taken into account.
The death toll used obituaries, photos from funerals and social media sites.
BBC Russian and independent website Mediazona said new graves marked by flags also helped confirm identities of killed soldiers.
Some 13,781 were volunteers — which now exceeds former prisoners.
Citizens called up to fight under conscription account for 13 per cent.
Since October last year, the death rate among volunteers has been at least 100 per week.
Volodymyr Zelensky said in May that Ukraine’s losses were 31,000, but it is thought to be higher.
What is the Wagner Group and who was its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin?
The Wagner Group, officially known as PMC Wagner, is a Russian paramilitary organisation that was founded in 2014.
It was run by Putin’s former close ally Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Russia calls the Wagner Group a “private military company,” though it has been labelled as a network of mercenaries by others.
Yevgeny Prigozhin was the leader of the Wagner Group and was at the forefront of their involvement in the war on Ukraine.
He was a close confidant of Putin but became his greatest enemy when he launched an alleged coup in June 2023.
In the past, Prigozhin was often referred to as “Putin’s chef” as he owned a number of restaurants and catering companies that provided services for the Kremlin.
Prigozhin appeared to trigger a crisis after he vowed to “punish” Russia, blaming the Kremlin for a missile attack on a Wagner training camp in Bakhmut, Ukraine, which killed dozens.
Prigozhin and his troops had been fighting in Putin’s war in Ukraine – but the Wagner boss had become a vocal critic of Russia’s military leadership.
In the early hours of June 24, 2023, he announced he had taken control of the Russian army HQ in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don, vowing to take the fight to Moscow.
In a series of videos and audio clips posted online, Prigozhin said: “We will destroy anyone who stands in our way…we are moving forward and will go until the end.”
He called for an armed rebellion against Russia’s top generals and defence minister Sergei Shoigu.
Following Prigozhin’s declaration, Putin gave an emergency address calling the Wagner Group’s “armed mutiny” a “stab in the back”.
The Russian president also warned of “inevitable punishment” for those attacking “the motherland”, vowing to defend Russia against “anarchy”.
Prigozhin died in a plane crash on 23 August 2023.
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