Wagner Group Leader: It Wasn't a Coup Attempt

Yevgeny Prigozhin has made his first public comments since he sent his tanks toward Moscow over the weekend, and he says he wasn't trying to overthrow Vladimir Putin. Instead, he says he was demonstrating against Russia's plans to absorb his Wagner Group fighters into the military, reports the Washington Post. He also again accused Russia of deliberately bombing his troops and said he aimed to prevent the "destruction" of his private military company, per CNN. Prigozhin eventually called off the advance on Moscow after a deal was reportedly brokered by Belarus.

"We were on a march to demonstrate our protest, not to topple the government," said Prigozhin, per the BBC, adding that he feared "a lot of blood would be shed" if he continued the advance. "The aim of the march was to avoid destruction of Wagner and to hold to account the officials who through their unprofessional actions have committed a massive number of errors," he said in an 11-minute video. Prigozhin has previously made clear he thinks Russian defense chief Sergei Shoigu has blundered in strategy.

Prigozhin credited Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko with helping resolve things, saying he "extended his hand and offered to find ways for Wagner to continue its work legally." He didn't elaborate on that. Earlier reports said Prigozhin would leave Russia for Belarus and wouldn't be prosecuted by the Kremlin. However, Russian state media reported Monday that he remains under investigation, reports the Wall Street Journal. Prigozhin's whereabouts remained unclear on Monday. (More Russia rebellion stories.)