coup in Russia?

I'm going to file this under "rumor" for the moment... but there's news of a Wagner Group coup against Vladimir Putin happening in Russia right now. The Wagner Group is a paramilitary black-ops entity that does the "unofficial" work that can't be done by the more well-known branches of the Russian military and intel communities.

What We Know So Far About the Shocking Russian Coup

A chilling line from the above-linked article:

Now, it appears Prigozhin is in control of the headquarters for Russia’s war efforts against Ukraine.

Yevgeny Prigozhin is the head of the Wagner Group.

Wikipedia says this about Wagner:

Wagner has played a significant role in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, where it has been reportedly deployed to assassinate Ukrainian leaders, among other activities, and for which it has recruited prison inmates from Russia for frontline combat.

I think the Russia-Ukraine war is about to take an interesting turn. Is the Wagner Group tired of Putin's wasteful efforts and planning to take control of the Russian government, or is the organization trying to overthrow Putin so as to intensify the war against Ukraine? Neither alternative is palatable from where I sit.

More from the above-linked article:

Although the Wagner Group has played a significant role in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Prigozhin has been engaged in a dispute with the defense ministry, accusing Russian military officials of depriving his troops of necessary weaponry and ammunition. In a series of agitated video and audio recordings released on Friday, Prigozhin directly implicated Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in ordering a rocket strike on the private military contractor’s field camps, where the group has been operating on behalf of Russia in Ukraine.

Prigozhin explicitly declared that his actions were not intended as a military coup but rather as a march for justice, aiming to put an end to what he perceives as the malevolence embodied by the country’s military leadership. Referring to Shoigu as “scum,” Prigozhin vowed to halt his actions.

According to the state news agency Taas, the National Anti-Terrorism Committee, a division of the Federal Security Services, will initiate a criminal investigation into Prigozhin on charges of inciting an armed rebellion. The report further indicates that Russian President Vladimir Putin has been kept informed of the situation.

[ ... ]

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Vladimir Putin has struggled to maintain the ironclad control over his nation that he has enjoyed for decades. Critics were swift and often challenging to silence.

This development with the Wagner Group marks the first full-blown challenge to his authority. For Putin, it could mean the end of his reign whether the coup is successful or not. Challenges like these are seen as weakness in Russia. The fact that someone went against the government in such dramatic fashion could be enough to force Putin out.

Ironically, this could be the beginning of the end of the war in Ukraine, which means it’s bad news for President Volodymyr Zelensky. This would be the premature ending of his globalist grift, propelling them into the “rebuilding” phase of his mission ahead of schedule.

ADDENDUM: Instapundit is taking the coup seriously.