A simmering conflict between Moscow’s military leadership and Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Wagner’s mercenary group, erupted on Friday night and is plunging Russia into fresh uncertainty with the threat of civil war.

On Friday, Prigozhin began a new tirade against the Russian military, and then sent his troops to the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called the actions of the “Wagner” PMC treason and promised to punish those involved in the armed uprising.

Prigozhin’s rebellion is likely to “really annoy” President Vladimir Putin and open up new opportunities for a Ukrainian counteroffensive, William Taylor, the former US ambassador to Ukraine, told CNN, as quoted by The Moscow Times.

“He (Putin, no) has big problems. His army is distracted by internal affairs, Prigozhin and Wagner. He’s got a whole bunch of issues to deal with right now,” Taylor said.

“Important moment” for Ukraine

The American diplomat believes that this is a “very important moment” for Ukraine.

“Now the Ukrainians are going on a counteroffensive. This is the perfect time to take advantage of the chaos in Moscow, the chaos in the Russian military,” Taylor said.

Prigozhin declares that the Russian military supports him and is ready to join Wagner’s group in the operation to behead the leadership of the military department.

An armed attack on the headquarters in Rostov-on-Don would have a significant impact on the military actions of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, experts of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) also believe.

Rostov is home to both the headquarters of the Southern Military District, whose 58th Combined Arms Army is now actively defending itself against Ukrainian troops advancing in southern Ukraine, and the command center of the combined Russian forces in Ukraine as a whole, ISW explains.

Military activity in Rostov is blocked

Thus, Rostov is an important command center for the Russian military, and a disruption of Russian Defense Ministry structures there “could have consequences for important aspects of military operations.”

In Rostov, “the activities of civil and military administration bodies are effectively blocked,” Putin admitted in a speech on Saturday.

The Russian authorities have deployed units of the FSB, Rosgvardia and other special forces to protect Moscow and other cities, as well as the roads leading to the capital.

Until recently, Putin was reluctant to deal with Prigozhin’s attacks on Russia’s military leadership, government and Kremlin sources, The Moscow Times reported.