Russian mercenary boss vows to avenge army 'destruction' of his force; Moscow denies accusation

Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin on Friday accused the Russian military of destroying his fighters, without explaining his accusation, and vowed to stop the "evil" of the military leadership. The Defence Ministry quickly issued a statement saying Prigozhin's accusations "do not correspond to reality and are an informational provocation".

In a series of audio messages on his official Telegram channel, Prigozhin said the "evil" of the Russian military leadership "must be stopped", adding: "Those who destroyed our lads, who destroyed the lives of many tens of thousands of Russian soldiers, will be punished. I ask that no one offer resistance."