Putin’s Russia in panic and disarray after armed rebellion by Yevgeny Prigozhin in Rostov-on-Don

Vladimir Putin has decried an armed rebellion by a private military group as a treasonous act of “betrayal”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zekenskyy says it is clear that Russia is suffering from “full-scale weakness” after mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin launched an armed rebellion.

Zelenskyy said in comments posted on his social media on Saturday that “anyone who chooses the path of evil destroys himself.”

He said that “for a long time, Russia used propaganda to mask its weakness and the stupidity of its government. And now there is so much chaos that no lie can hide it”.

“Russia’s weakness is obvious. Full-scale weakness,” Zelenskyy said.

“And the longer Russia keeps its troops and mercenaries on our land, the more chaos, pain and problems it will have for itself later. This is also obvious.”

His comments came as Russia was plunged into a crisis and on the brink of civil war.

Vladimir Putin vowed harsh punishment for the organisers of the armed rebellion, which has been spearheaded by Prigozhin, who led his troops out of Ukraine and into a key southern city.

The Russian President denounced the uprising as “a stab in the back” in an address to the nation. It was the biggest threat to his leadership in over two decades in power.

Prigozhin has denied allegations that he is betraying his country and called his fighters patriots.

In an audio message on his Telegram channel, Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said: “Regarding the betrayal of the motherland, the president was deeply mistaken. We are patriots of our homeland”.

He said his fighters would not turn themselves in at the request of Putin, as “we do not want the country to live on in corruption, deceit and bureaucracy”.

As the mercenary group advance on Moscow, the government has ordered mass events to be postponed until July 1 in Moscow, the region around the capital and “a number of other regions where additional anti-terrorist measures have been introduced”.

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