This video grab taken from handout footage posted late on June 24, 2023 on the Telegram channel @rstv01 shows Yevgeny Prigozhin looking on from a car as he leaves the headquarters of the Russian southern military district in the city of Rostov-on-Don. Wagner mercenaries were headed back to base on June 25, 2023, after Russia's President Vladimir Putin agreed to allow their leader to avoid treason charges and accept exile in Belarus. (Photo by Handout / TELEGRAM / @rstv01 / AFP)
Moscow: Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Monday that his aborted revolt was aimed at saving his embattled mercenary outfit and not at ousting the Russian authorities.
"We went to demonstrate our protest and not to overthrow power in the country," Prigozhin said in the first audio message since calling off the Wagner march at the weekend.
The private army chief did not reveal his location but is reported to move to Belarus, after a deal brokered by Minsk to end the mutiny.
Prigozhin said his revolt was aimed at saving his embattled mercenary outfit and bringing to justice Russia's military leadership who made "huge mistakes" during the Ukraine campaign.
But he said the mutiny -- which saw armed fighters speed through southern Russia en route to Moscow -- exposed major security issues.
Wagner's convoy stopped 200 kilometres (125 miles) short of Moscow and had "blocked all military infrastructure" including air bases along its path, Prigozhin said.
He claimed the group had support from locals along the way.
"In Russian towns, civilians met us with Russian flags and the symbols of Wagner," Prigozhin said. "They were all happy when we passed through."
Prigozhin said Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko offered ways in which Wagner could continue to operate and thereby ended the rebellion.
"Lukashenko held out his hand and offered to find solutions for the continuation of the work of the Wagner private military company in a legal jurisdiction," Prigozhin said.
The Wagner chief said that he had sent two columns into Russia: one to the city of Rostov-on-Don, which occupied the local army headquarters, and the second one to Moscow.
He halted the rebellion after the column approaching Moscow "did reconnaissance of the area and it was obvious that at that moment a lot of blood will be shed."
He claimed that nobody was killed "on the ground" during the march but admitted casualties in the air.
"We regret that we were forced to hit on aviation, but they dropped bombs and hit us with rocket fire," he said.
He said that several Wagner fighters were injured and claimed that two soldiers who had joined the rebellion "out of their own will" were killed.
Prigozhin said Wagner fighters were aware of the "end aim" of the march and were "not forced" to join. He has claimed to have got as close as 200 kilometres from Moscow.
