The head of the Wagner mercenary group claims his forces shot down a Russian military helicopter after it fired on civilians.
Yevgeny Prigozhin on Friday accused the Russian army of shelling his fighters and launching what appeared to be a coup against the Kremlin.
Prigozhin said his units, which have been leading an offensive in eastern Ukraine for months, entered Russia’s southern Rostov region and shot down a Russian helicopter.
“A helicopter just opened fire on a civilian convoy,” Wagner’s chief said in an audio message. “It was taken down by PMC Wagner units.”
He did not provide any details and the claim could not be confirmed.
Prigozhin accused Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the Russian General Staff, of ordering strikes against his units even though they were moving among civilian vehicles.
The Russian military has ordered Wagner’s troops back to their bases and put troops on high alert across the country.
Prigozhin said he had 25,000 fighters ready to fight the Russian army and called on regular Russian soldiers to join his coup attempt.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces are stepping up their frontline attacks to “take advantage” of Wagner’s attempted coup, according to Russia’s defense ministry.
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