A massive fire engulfed a military base in Molkino, in Russia’s Krasnodar region, previously used by the notorious Wagner Group mercenaries. The blaze, which some sources suggest was an act of sabotage, destroyed several administrative buildings at the facility.
Footage circulating on social media showed intense flames consuming the former base of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the late leader of the Wagner Group. Local media outlet gulagu.net reported that the fire may have been an arson attack, stating, “Someone found it important to destroy any traces and evidence of the activities of this criminal organization, financed by the Kremlin.”
While early reports suggested a possible kamikaze drone attack, potentially from Ukraine, the Wagner-linked Telegram channel Thirteenth cited sources indicating internal sabotage. The channel claimed that “documentation, forms, personal files, communication equipment worth hundreds of millions was burned.”
The military base had been vacated by Wagner last year and was subsequently occupied by Putin’s Africa Corps, a military force run by the Russian defense ministry to protect Russian interests in African countries.
This incident comes months after the death of Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin in a suspicious plane crash near Moscow, following his failed coup attempt against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The fire at the Molkino base is the latest in a series of setbacks for the Russian military. Recently, Ukrainian drones reportedly struck a massive Russian ammunition dump in the Krasnodar region, causing significant explosions. There are also unconfirmed reports of a strike on a facility in the Tver region, rumored to house Russia’s “Satan-2” nuclear missiles.
As the conflict in Ukraine continues, recent data suggests that at least 70,000 Russian troops have been killed since the invasion began two years ago, with the actual number potentially being much higher.
The destruction of the former Wagner base adds another layer of complexity to the ongoing tensions within Russia’s military structures and its war efforts in Ukraine.
