Russia-Ukraine war live: Putin says Wagner mutiny tried to force soldiers ‘to shoot their own’ in desperate message

Vladimir Putin said mutiny organisers tried to force the Wagner group’s soldiers “to shoot their own”, without naming the mercenary unit’s chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, as he issued a desperate message to the Russian public. The Russian president blasted the organisers of a weekend mutiny, the gravest threat yet to his power, and dubbed them as traitors who played into the hands of Ukraine’s government and its allies. In an address last night, Mr Putin insisted that he directly ordered that steps were taken “to avoid a lot of bloodshed” during the mutiny which he claimed was “resolutely rejected by society” – despite clips appearing to show Rostov-on-Don residents bringing Wagner troops food as they occupied the city. Missing since Saturday night, Yevgeny Prigozhin broke his silence yesterday, claiming his aborted march on Moscow gave a “masterclass” in what Mr Putin’s troops could have achieved with their botched invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky cheered his troops last night after marking a successful day in the battlefield where he claimed that the Ukraine’s soldiers progressed in all directions. Read More Putin appeals to public after Wagner leader Prigozhin breaks silence over mutiny Who is Yevgeny Prigozhin? The exiled Wagner Group mercenary chief who rebelled against Putin Russia claims two British warplanes spotted near border