Wagner chief vows to topple Russia top brass, says fighters 'ready to die'

Yevgeny Prigozhin, 62, said his forces, who have spearheaded much of Russia's offensive in Ukraine, had entered the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and controlled its military sites.

"We are inside the (army) headquarters, it is 7:30 am (0430 GMT)," Prigozhin said in a video on Telegram.

"Military sites in Rostov, including an aerodrome, are under control," he added.

Russia's military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don are a key logistical base for its offensive in Ukraine.

Prigozhin said planes taking part in the Ukraine offensive "are leaving as normal" from the airfield, and called on Russians not to believe what they were being told on state television.

"A huge amount of territory is lost. Soldiers have been killed three, four times more than it says in documents shown to the top (leadership)."

Videos and pictures posted online, including by the TASS state-run news agency, showed armed men surrounding administrative buildings in Rostov and tanks deployed in the city centre. It was not clear who the armed men were.

President Vladimir Putin was due to make a televised address on Saturday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian news agencies.

Russian authorities earlier said security had been tightened in several regions, and the mayor of Moscow announced that "anti-terrorist" measures were being taken in the capital and its environs.

The FSB security service accused Prigozhin of attempting to launch a "civil conflict" and urged Wagner fighters to detain him.

Russia's defence ministry appealed to Wagner fighters to "show reason" and abandon Prigozhin, saying it would "guarantee the safety" of those who did so.

Prigozhin launched the most audacious challenge to Putin since the start of the offensive in Ukraine last year after accusing the Russian top brass of launching strikes against his men.

"We are dying for the Russian people," he said. "All of us are ready to die. All 25,000, and then another 25,000," he said in the earlier audio message.

"We will destroy everything that stands in our way," Prigozhin said, claiming that his forces had shot down a Russian military helicopter.

In Moscow, critical facilities were "under reinforced protection", TASS reported, citing a law enforcement source.

Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov had informed Putin of "the initiation of a criminal case in connection with an attempt to organise an armed rebellion", Kremlin spokesman Peskov said.

- Missile strikes -

The extraordinary developments came after Prigozhin accused Moscow of targeting his forces with missile strikes that he said killed "a huge number of our fighters".

"The council of commanders of PMC Wagner has made a decision -- the evil that the military leadership of the country brings must be stopped," he said in a series of furious audio messages released by his spokespeople.

He warned Russians against resisting his forces and called on them to join him.

"We need to put an end to this mess," he said, adding, "this is not a military coup, but a march of justice."

In a statement, the FSB said: "Prigozhin's statements and actions are in fact a call to start an armed civil conflict on the territory of the Russian Federation and a stab in the back to Russian servicemen fighting pro-fascist Ukrainian forces."

While Prigozhin's outfit has been at the forefront of much of Russia's offensive in Ukraine, he has in recent months engaged in a bitter feud with Moscow's military leadership and has repeatedly blamed Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff, for his fighters' deaths.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday acknowledged a "difficult" situation was unfolding in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don, where the Wagner mercenary group has taken control of key military sites in an effort to oust Russian military's top brass.

"There will be decisive measures taken on stabilising the situation in Rostov-on-Don," Putin said in an address to Russians. "It remains difficult and the work of civil and military authorities in fact is being blocked."