The advance on Moscow by members of the Wagner Group was halted by its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin on Saturday evening, following a reported negotiation with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
Within a remarkable day and a half, Russia faced the very real threat of an armed insurrection, with President Vladimir Putin vowing to punish Wagner fighters marching toward Moscow and occupying cities along the way - before a sudden deal with Belarus seemed to defuse the crisis as rapidly as it emerged, media reports said.
The long-running feud between Prigozhin and the Russian military over the war in Ukraine has now escalated into an open confrontation, setting up the biggest challenge to Putin’s authority since he launched his invasion of Ukraine 16 months ago.
Russia coup news: Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin has demanded the Russian defence minister come to him - in Rostov - to discuss the situation. | World News