Vladimir Putin accuses Yevgeny Prigozhin of 'treason'
Vladimir Putin has described the uprising as a "stab in the back of our troops and the people of Russia".
Vladimir Putin has accused Yevgeny Prigozhin of committing "treason".
The 70-year-old Russian President has hit out at Prigozhin during a televised address, after the 62-year-old warlord launched an uprising against the Russian army.
Putin said during his address: "It’s an attempt to subvert us from inside. This is treason in the face of those who are fighting on the front. This is a stab in the back of our troops and the people of Russia."
However, Prigozhin has rubbished the idea that he's launching a coup. Instead, he described the efforts of his Wagner mercenary group as a "march for justice".
Prigozhin also claimed that the movement has already gained popularity within Russia.
He said: "There are 25,000 of us. Everyone who wants, join us."
The Wagner Group is a private army of mercenaries and they've actually been fighting alongside the regular Russian army during the ongoing war in Ukraine.
But Prigozhin - who is one of Russia's most powerful men and the leader of the group - has called for a rebellion against the current regime.
Prigozhin said: "No one is going to turn themselves in at the request of the president ... we don’t want the country to continue to live in corruption and lies.
"We are patriots, and those who are against us are the ones who gathered around the b*******."
Despite this, Prigozhni has announced that his soldiers won't march on Moscow, in a bid to avoid bloodshed.
He said in a statement: "They wanted to disband the Wagner military company. We embarked on a march of justice on 23 June.
"In 24 hours, we got to within 200 kilometres of Moscow. In this time we did not spill a single drop of our fighters' blood.
"Now the moment has come when blood could be spilled. Understanding responsibility [for the chance] that Russian blood will be spilled on one side, we are turning our columns around and going back to field camps as planned."
