Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin released the first audio statement since an aborted armed rebellion, calling it justified by the killing of some 30 fighters.
The extraordinary challenge to President Vladimir Putin’s two-decade hold on power could have long-term consequences for his rule and his war in Ukraine.
Putin is vowing to punish the organizers of an armed rebellion after mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin led his troops out of Ukraine seized a key city.
The head of the Russian private army Wagner says his force lost more than 20,000 men in the drawn-out battle for the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.