Wagner forces, a rebellious group, diverted from their northward advance towards Moscow and headed east towards a Russian army base that houses nuclear weapons, as confirmed by online videos and local resident interviews. However, it remains unclear what transpired when the fighters reached the Voronezh-45 base, and Western officials have consistently stated that Russia’s nuclear stockpile was never at risk during the rebellion. Nevertheless, Ukraine’s head of military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, revealed in an exclusive interview that the Wagner fighters did reach the nuclear base and intended to obtain old Soviet-era nuclear devices to escalate their mutiny. Budanov emphasized that the only obstacle preventing them from accessing the weapons was the locked doors to the nuclear storage area. Although Reuters was unable to independently verify these claims, a source close to the Kremlin with military ties supported parts of Budanov’s account.
Concerns about the Wagner fighters’ proximity to nuclear weapons reportedly prompted a hastened resolution to the rebellion. US officials, however, expressed skepticism about the claims. Matt Korda of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists noted that it would be nearly impossible for a non-state actor to breach Russian nuclear security. While Wagner may have had a significant number of troops, it is unlikely that any of them possessed the knowledge to detonate a nuclear bomb or access the incomplete weapons stored at Voronezh-45. Budanov’s assertion marks the first time an official has suggested that Wagner fighters came close to acquiring nuclear weapons and escalating Russia’s political situation. Former US officials cautioned that it is uncertain whether Russia fulfilled its promise to destroy its backpack-style nuclear weapons.
Wagner, founded by Yevgeny Prigozhin and Dmitry Utkin, operates as a private army, enabling Russia’s involvement in conflicts across Syria, Libya, and Mali while maintaining plausible deniability. Prigozhin’s businesses, including Wagner and a social media troll factory implicated in interfering with the 2016 US presidential election, reportedly received significant funding from the Russian state. The mutiny initiated by Prigozhin occurred after he accused the Russian military of launching a missile strike on a Wagner camp in Russian-occupied east Ukraine. The conflict, fueled by monetary issues and tensions between rival clans, came to a head when Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered Wagner fighters to sign contracts to integrate into the regular army, a demand Prigozhin refused. This, along with impending funding cuts, reportedly triggered the rebellion.
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