Amid 'armed mutiny' rebel Wagner chief Prigozhin claims control of Russian city of Rostov-on-Don; Putin expected to address nation soon

Rebellious Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said he had taken control of the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don as part of an attempt to oust the military leadership for “their disastrous leadership of the war against Ukraine”

Rebellious Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said on June 24 he had taken control of the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don as part of an attempt to oust the military leadership amid what the authorities said was an armed mutiny. Meanwhile, a Russian security source told Reuters that Wagner Group mercenary fighters had taken control of all military facilities in the city of Voronezh, around 500 km (310 miles) south of Moscow. 

Mr. 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.

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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.

"Those who destroyed our lads, who destroyed the lives of many tens of thousands of Russian soldiers, will be punished. I ask that no one offer resistance...," he said in one of many frenzied audio messages.

"There are 25,000 of us and we are going to figure out why chaos is happening in the country," he said, promising to destroy any checkpoints or air forces that got in Wagner's way.

Mr. Prigozhin, whose Wagner militia spearheaded the capture of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut last month, has for months been openly accusing Shoigu and Gerasimov of incompetence and of denying Wagner ammunition and support in its battles in Ukraine.