MOSCOW:
Russian mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Saturday his Wagner fighters crossed the border into Russia from Ukraine and were set to go “all the way” against Moscow’s military, hours after the Kremlin accused him of armed mutiny.
Russia’s FSB security service opened a criminal case against him, TASS news agency said. It called on the Wagner private military company forces to ignore his orders and arrest him.
Wagner fighters had entered the southern Russian city of Rostov, Prigozhin said in an audio recording posted on Telegram. He said he and his men would destroy anyone who stood in their way. Prigozhin earlier said, without providing evidence, that Russia’s military leadership had killed a huge number of his troops in an air strike and vowed to punish them.
He said his actions were not a military coup. Security was stepped up on Friday night at government buildings, transport facilities and other key locations in Moscow, TASS reported, citing a source at a security service.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was getting around-the-clock updates, TASS said.
