Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin has denied allegations by President Vladimir Putin that he is betraying his country, dubbing his Wagner Group fighters “patriots”.
In an address to the nation on Saturday morning (June 24), Mr Putin vowed to defend Russia against the armed rebellion after Mr Prigozhin led his troops out of Ukraine and into the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don.
Mr Prigozhin said of the decision to head to the city 600 miles south of Moscow: “Regarding the betrayal of the motherland, the president was deeply mistaken. We are patriots of our homeland.”
