Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of Wagner Group, a private army in Russia, has mobilised his troops against the country’s military and President Vladmir Putin.
Prigozhin said his fighters had crossed the border from Ukraine into Russia and would destroy anyone in their way, including roadblocks and aircraft.
Wagner has been fighting alongside the regular Russian army in Ukraine.
Things took a different turn on Friday when the militia leader accused Russia’s army of attacking a Wagner camp and killing a “huge amount” of his men.
He promised to take revenge and “stop the evil brought by the military leadership of the country”.
“Those who destroyed today our guys, who destroyed tens, tens of thousands of lives of Russian soldiers will be punished. I’m asking: no one resist,” Prigozhin said.
“There are 25,000 of us and we are going to find out why there is such chaos in the country. Anyone who wants should join. We need to end this mess.
“Everyone who will try to resist, we will consider them a danger and destroy them immediately, including any checkpoints on our way and any aviation that we see above our heads.”
Prigozhin also accused Russia’s military of fabricating stories about its invasion of Ukraine, adding that Russia was experiencing a lot of setbacks on the battlefield and would have avoided the war if they agreed to negotiations with the Ukrainian president.
Russia’s ministry of defence denied Prigozhin’s claims, calling it an “informational provocation” while beefing up security in Moscow, the Russian capital.
Tass, a Russian state news agency, reports that a criminal case against Prigozhin has been opened by the federal security service.
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Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesperson, said Putin is aware of the situation.