Putin says Wagner mutiny is 'treason', punishment will be harsh

In an attempt to oust the military leadership Prigozhin demanded that Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the General Staff, whom he has pledged to oust over what he says is their disastrous leadership of the war against Ukraine, come to see him in Rostov, a city near the Ukrainian border.

He had earlier said that he had 25,000 fighters moving towards Moscow to "restore justice" and had alleged, without providing evidence, that the military had killed a huge number of fighters from his Wagner private militia in an air strike, something the defence ministry denied.

One Russian security source told Reuters Wagner fighters had also taken control of military facilities in the city of Voronezh, which is about 500 km (310 miles) south of Moscow. Reuters could not independently confirm that assertion or many of the details provided by Prigozhin.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an emergency televised address that an "armed mutiny" by the Wagner Group mercenary force was treason and that anyone who had taken up arms against the Russian military would be punished.

He said he would do everything to protect Russia, and that "decisive action" would be taken to stabilise the situation in Rostov-on-Don, a southern city where Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said his forces had taken control of all military installations.

The dramatic turn, with many details unclear, looked like the biggest domestic crisis President Vladimir Putin has faced since he ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine - something he called a "special military operation" - in February last year.

Reuters