Wagner PMC Units Entered Voronezh Nuclear Storage Base During Rebellion: Reuters

The Wagner Private Military Company (PMC) approached a nuclear base near Voronezh during the rebellious events of June 24, according to a statement by Kiril Budanov, head of Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR), in an interview with Reuters.

Budanov clarified that the PMC fighters moved toward a nuclear facility known as Voronezh-45. He also indicated that the intent behind such actions was to seize Soviet-era nuclear equipment, suggesting that Yevgeny Prigozhin's group aimed to 'raise the stakes.'

Following this, a source close to the Kremlin and connected with military leadership confirmed part of Budanov's claims. After the PMC units entered the secured area, U.S. leadership expressed concern. Matt Cordan, a senior scientist and program head at the Federation of American Scientists in the nuclear information sector, stated that an organization operating outside state jurisdiction could not breach the integrity of Russia's nuclear security. He asserted that the 'Wagnerites' would not dare to detonate a bomb.

'If an assailant were to acquire nuclear weapons, they would notice that the weapons are maintained in a state of incomplete assembly. They must be completed by installing specialized equipment, and then by unlocking the relevant mechanisms, which would require cooperation from someone in the 12th Directorate,' he clarified.