By James Gregory for BBC
Footage posted on 24 June shows Yevgeny Prigozhin leaving the headquarters of the Russian southern military district in the city of Rostov-on-Don. Photo: AFP / Handout / Telegram channel @rstv01
The Wagner mercenary group's weekend mutiny was launched in a last-ditch bid to ensure its continued existence, its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin has said.
The rebellion, in which Wagner seized a Russian city and drove a military convoy towards Moscow, was not intended to topple the government, he added.
It was Prigozhin's first public statement since he agreed to bring an end to the extraordinary events.
He halted the mutiny to stop "spilling the blood of Russian soldiers".
In the 11-minute long audio message posted on Telegram, Prigozhin insisted he had not wanted to challenge Vladimir Putin's rule, although he did not mention the Russian president by name.
He said the mutiny was instead a response to government plans to take direct control of Wagner - a private army of mercenaries that has been fighting alongside the regular Russian army in Ukraine - as well as a protest over mistakes made by officials in the war with Ukraine.
"The goal of the march was to avoid the destruction of Wagner PMC and to hold accountable those people who made a huge number of mistakes during the special military operation with their unprofessional actions," he said.
In June, Russia said "volunteer formations" would be asked to sign Ministry of Defence contracts, in a move widely seen as a threat to Prigozhin's grip on Wagner.
It came after weeks of increasingly harsh criticism from Prigozhin of the way the Russian military leadership were conducting the war.
But in his address on Monday, Prigozhin said only 1 or 2 percent of his fighters had decided to sign government contracts, adding that moving Wagner out of his chain of command would lead to the "full loss of combat capability" in its war with Ukraine.
Before its involvement in Ukraine, Wagner had long had a presence in several places around the world.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier on Monday that the group would not be withdrawn from Africa, including in Central African Republic and Mali where Wagner has its biggest presence on the continent.
Last week's rebellion followed months of growing tensions between Wagner and Russia's military leadership, led by Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu.
Infighting came to a head on Friday night when Wagner mercenaries crossed the border from their field camps in Ukraine and entered the southern city of Rostov-on-Don - where Russia's war is being directed from.
They then reportedly took over the regional military command while a column of military vehicles moved north, towards Moscow.
Prigozhin also claimed his "march of justice" revealed "serious problems with security all around the country".
The "special operation in Ukraine" would have been over much sooner if Wagner forces were involved in the initial phases of the invasion, he said.
Prigozhin acknowledged that the march had resulted in the death of some Russian troops when Wagner mercenaries shot down attacking helicopters.
He added that about 30 of his fighters were also killed in a missile strike by Russian soldiers in Rostov. The BBC has not yet verified his claim.
But he added that "not a single soldier was killed on the ground".
"We are sorry that we had to strike the aircraft, but they were striking us with bombs and missiles," he said.
Prigozhin remains under Russian investigation despite the Kremlin saying criminal charges against him had been dropped, according to Russian state media.
The mercenary boss did not reveal his location during his Telegram message, but did mention the role Belarusian leader Alexsander Lukashenko played in brokering the arrangement.
He said Lukashenko had offered Wagner a way to maintain its "legal jurisdiction".
- This story was first published by the BBC
