Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin announced early on Saturday that his forces had taken control of Russia’s army headquarters in the city of Rostov-on-Don, a city of more than a million people where Russia has based one of its outposts overseeing military operations in Ukraine.
Prigozhin demanded that Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and armed forces Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov come meet him in Rostov, a city near the Ukrainian border.
Prigozhin’s open rebellion came after he accused the Russian military of launching strikes on Wagner bases in Ukraine on Friday.
“The evil that the military leadership of the country brings must be stopped,” Prigozhin said.