The Weekly Debrief: Why Wagner’s Chief Says They Had To Fire On Russian Aircraft

Ending his so-called “march for justice” against two Russian military leaders 200 mi. short of Moscow, Yevgeny Prigozhin had claimed his actions were bloodless.

Far from it, it has emerged. While his Wagner column of heavily armed mercenaries faced no opposition on the ground, imagery published on social media has confirmed that a Russian Air Force Ilyushin Il-22M airborne command post was among several military aircraft shot down inside Russia by Prigozhin’s Wagner Private Military as they advanced north.

Wagner-operated air defenses brought down the four-engine turboprop on June 24 near the city of Voronezh in southwestern Russia. All on board—many likely to be experienced Russian air force personnel—were killed. Those same forces also bought down several Mil-8/17 transport helicopters, including a specialized electronic warfare version, a Kamov Ka-52 attack helicopter, and a Mil Mi-35 attack helicopter that were attempting to stave off Wagner’s advance.

“We regret that we had to strike at aircraft, but they were bombing us and launching missile strikes,” Prigozhin said in a 11-min. video clip explaining his actions published June 26.

Prigozhin, Wagner’s owner, seemingly triggered the rebellion, aiming his ire at the head of the Russian military, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu over concerns that Wagner was being stripped of its combat capability. Prigozhin publicly blamed the two men for the conflict in Ukraine, which has seen thousands of Wagner personnel killed. In an earlier video published online on June 23, he said the justification for the war in Ukraine was a lie, and just an excuse for “a small group of scumbags” to promote themselves and deceive both the public and Putin.

Hours later, Wagner forces seized the city of Rostov-on-Don and then launched what Prigozhin called their march toward Moscow, during which the aircraft and helicopters were engaged. Later that day, he halted the advance 200 mi. short of the Russian capital, agreeing to an undisclosed deal apparently brokered by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko. The June 26 video does not reveal any details about the deal. 

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the events of June 25 had been a “direct challenge to [President] Putin’s authority,” and that the episode suggested there were now “real cracks” in Putin’s rule.

Prigozhin himself said his actions had demonstrated shortfalls in Russian military capabilities, saying that Wagner forces had given “a master class on what should have happened on February 24, 2022”—a reference to the difficulties faced by the Russian Army in the first days of the war in Ukraine.

The loss of the Il-22M—a military conversion of the Il-18 airliner—represents a significant blow to the Russian Air Force’s intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capacity and its valued airborne command post capabilities.

Russia is no stranger to losses of vital platforms, however. In September 2018, an Il-20—an electronic intelligence version of the Il-18—was accidentally shot down by Syrian air defenses as it returned from a patrol flight over the Mediterranean Sea.