Fears of an attempted coup in Russia were growing on Saturday as troops from the Wagner militia were marching on the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, led by the furious mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin set on revenge for Moscow killing some of his men.

Prigozhin issued a new message at about 2am on Saturday, Moscow time (2300 GMT), saying his forces had crossed the border from Ukraine, and were in Rostov.

Residents have been told to stay in their homes by government officials, but some were seen out observing what was happening, even live-streaming the action on their cell phones.

Prigozhin, who was once a confidant of Vladimir Putin before declaring war on Moscow's military leadership, claimed his forces marched on the city 'unopposed'.

Footage shared on social media showed troops outside the Southern Military Headquarters - which plays a crucial role in managing the Ukraine war - while more were seen less than half a mile encircling the Rostov office of the Interior Ministry.

Rob Lee, a senior fellow at the Philadelphia-based Foreign Policy Research Institute who specializes in Russian defense, said: 'The Telegram channel says there are soldiers in the building and there are up to 300 Wagner fighters in Rostov.'

Alexander Vindman, a Ukraine expert and former member of the National Security Council, tweeted: 'Those are not Russian National Guard troops. That looks like Wagner troops entering the SMD HQ.'

But some said it was not clear that the forces on the streets were Wagner, and they may have been forces loyal to the Kremlin.

Vladimir Putin's spokesperson said the Russian president had been informed of Prigozhin's claims of a march on Moscow, and that 'necessary measures are being taken.'

Putin has yet to be seen, or publicly comment on the uprising.

Prigozhin claimed to have also shot down a Russian military helicopter in the city - home to the Kremlin's headquarters for the war in Ukraine - which 'opened fire on a civilian column'.

But there was no proof of his claim.

Prigozhin launched his extraordinary action after calling for the ousting of the Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and vowing to punish Russian military leaders - whom he accused of killing 'hundreds' of his mercenaries in an air strike.

The private army boss also claimed the Russian military leaders are lying to Putin and hiding the bodies of a further 2,000 soldiers to conceal losses in Ukraine.

As his Wagner forces closed in on Rostov on Friday night, 1,000 miles from Moscow, Prigozhin said they would take 'all necessary steps' to topple the country's military leadership.

He declared: 'We will destroy anyone who stands in our way... we are moving forward and will go until the end'.

In response, Russian military vehicles were seen on the streets of Moscow.

The FSB security services earlier said they had opened a criminal investigation into Prigozhin and called for his arrest, accusing him of inciting armed insurrection.

While the realities on the ground remain unclear, the episode appears to be the biggest internal military crisis Putin has faced since he ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February last year.

Mick Mulroy, a retired C.I.A. officer and a former Pentagon official, said that Prigozhin poses 'a serious challenge' to Putin.

'If Mr Prigozhin's threats materialize, the Russian military may have to refocus its efforts from countering the Ukrainian advance to the Russian government's 'self-preservation',' he said.

'Even if this attempted coup fails, it emphatically makes the point that those closest to this war know it was a terrible mistake.'

As Prigozhin said his men were ready to 'go all the way' against Russian military leaders, the state news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying all of the country's security services were reporting to Putin 'round the clock'.

Security was stepped up on Friday night at government buildings, transport facilities and other key locations in Moscow, Russia's TASS news agency reported, citing a source at a security service.

As the standoff between Prigozhin and the defence ministry appeared to come to a head, the ministry issued a statement saying Prigozhin's accusations were 'not true and are an informational provocation'.

Meanwhile, Russian state media had coverage across its front page dedicated to the 'armed rebellion' by the Wagner chief, while Google News was reportedly blocked in the country as the feud intensified.

Prigozhin has said his actions do not amount to a military coup.

But in a frenzied series of audio messages, in which the sound of his voice sometimes varied and could not be independently verified, he appeared to suggest that his 25,000-strong militia was en route to oust the leadership of the defence ministry in Moscow.

Prigozhin said: '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...

'There are 25,000 of us and we are going to figure out why chaos is happening in the country,' he said, promising to tackle any checkpoints or air forces that got in Wagner's way.

'We will consider anyone who tries to resist a threat and quickly destroy them,' he said.

Earlier on Friday, Prigozhin had appeared to cross a new line in his increasingly vitriolic feud with the ministry, saying that the Kremlin's rationale for invading Ukraine was based on lies concocted by the army's top brass.

Prigozhin has for months been openly accusing Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Russia's top general, Valery Gerasimov, of rank incompetence and of denying Wagner ammunition and support.

As his violent rhetoric appears to be escalating towards action, the FSB domestic security service said it had opened a criminal case against him for calling for an armed mutiny, a crime punishable with a jail term of up to 20 years.

'Prigozhin's statements are in fact calls for the start of an armed civil conflict on Russian territory and his actions are a 'stab in the back' of Russian servicemen fighting pro-fascist Ukrainian forces,' the FSB said.

'We urge the ... fighters not to make irreparable mistakes, to stop any forcible actions against the Russian people, not to carry out the criminal and traitorous orders of Prigozhin, to take measures to detain him.'

The Kremlin said Putin had been informed and that 'necessary measures are being taken'.

It is still unclear the full extent of the situation in Russia amid claims and counter claims from both the Russian military command and Wagner PMC.

rmy Lieutenant-General Vladimir Alekseyev issued a video appeal in which he asked Prigozhin to reconsider his actions.

'Only the president has the right to appoint the top leadership of the armed forces, and you are trying to encroach on his authority,' he said.

General Sergei Surovikin, the deputy commander of Russian forces in Ukraine whom Prigozhin has praised in the past, in a separate video urged Wagner to 'stop'.

'The enemy is just waiting for our internal political situation to deteriorate,' said Surovikin.

'Before it is too late, and it must be done, you must submit to the will and order of the people's president of the Russian Federation.

'Stop the columns and return them to their permanent bases,' he said.



Prigozhin, a one-time Putin ally, in recent months has carried out an increasingly bitter feud with Moscow.

Wagner led Russia's capture of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut last month, Russia's biggest victory in 10 months, and Prigozhin has used its battlefield success to criticise the leadership of the defense ministry with seeming impunity - until now.

The defence ministry has - until now - largely ignored his criticism, at least in public.

An unverified video posted on a Telegram channel close to Wagner showed the purported scene of an air strike against Wagner forces.

It showed a forest where small fires were burning and trees appeared to have been broken by force. There appeared to be one body, but no more direct evidence of any attack.

It carried the caption: 'A missile attack was launched on the camps of PMC (Private Military Company) Wagner. Many victims. According to eyewitnesses, the strike was delivered from the rear, that is, it was delivered by the military of the Russian Ministry of Defence.'

On Friday he for the first time he dismissed Putin's core justifications for invading Ukraine on February 24 last year.

'The war was needed ... so that Shoigu could become a marshal ... so that he could get a second 'Hero' [of Russia] medal,' Prigozhin said in a video clip.

'The war wasn't needed to demilitarise or denazify Ukraine.'

Marat Gabidullin, a former Wagner commander who moved to France when Russia invaded Ukraine, told Reuters that Wagner's fighters were likely to stand with Prigozhin.

'We have looked down on the army for a long time ... Of course they support him, he is their leader,' he said.

'They won't hesitate (to fight the army), if anyone gets in their way.'

On the frontlines of Ukraine, the Kremlin that Kyiv was taking advantage of infighting between the Wagner mercenary group and the Russian military to ready an assault near the east Ukraine hotspot of Bakhmut.

'Taking advantage of (Yevgeny) Prigozhin's provocation to disorganize the situation, the Kyiv regime near the Bakhmut front is concentrating units... for offensive actions,' the Russian defence ministry said in a statement carried by news agencies....