Russia mutiny: Rebel mercenary convoy turns back to avoid 'blood being spilled'

Russian mercenary group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin has told his troops advancing on Moscow to turn back, saying he wants to avoid "blood being spilled".

It comes after Moscow's residents were asked to stop travelling around Russia's capital and security services had set up machine gun positions on its outskirts as the rebel convoy of mercenaries neared the city.

In an audio message, Prigozhin said his fighters - part of the private mercenary Wagner Group - would return to their bases.

He said he gave the order because of the risk of blood being spilled.

Wagner boss turns his troops around - Russia mutiny latest

Prigozhin had earlier vowed to "destroy anyone who stands in our way".

Reuters reported the Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko had brokered an agreement between Prigozhin and Vladimir Putin.

Earlier, the Russian president accused the leader of the Wagner group of treason and leading an "armed mutiny".

Condemning the actions of one-time ally Prigozhin, who was leading a rebellion to oust Russia's defence minister, he branded it a "stab in the back" to the country's soldiers and people.

But Prigozhin denied a betrayal and called his fighters "patriots".

The convoy had earlier moved rapidly from Russia's south and was thought to be around the Lipetsk region, around 300 miles (500km) from the centre of Moscow, before it was put to an end.

Earlier, Russian media showed groups of police manning machine gun positions at Moscow's southern border.

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The crisis came as Prigozhin claimed he and his troops had reached Rostov-on-Don after crossing the Russian border from Ukraine and taken control of key sites including the airfield.

The city is home to the Russian military headquarters that directs the invading forces in Ukraine.

The mercenary group was also said to have seized defence facilities in the city of Voronezh, around 310 miles (500km) south of Moscow.

The Russian army carried out "combat measures" in the Voronezh region "as part of the counter-terrorist operation", according to its governor Alexander Gusev.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 0:48 Wagner armed troops near Russian military HQ

In a televised address earlier, Putin said: "It's the equivalent to armed mutiny.

"Russia will defend itself and repel this move.

"We are fighting the life and security of our citizens.

"It's an attempt to subvert us from inside.

"This is a stab in the back to our troops and the people of Russia."

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 4:28 Putin and Prigozhin's relationship explained

He added: "The entire military, economic and information machine of the West is waged against us.

"This battle, when the fate of our people is being decided, requires the unification of all forces, unity, consolidation and responsibility.

"Those who plotted and organised an armed rebellion, who raised arms against his comrades-in-arms, betrayed Russia. And they will answer for it."

Wagner rebellion was a disaster waiting to happen Diana Magnay Moscow correspondent @DiMagnaySky Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin is now a problem entirely of the Kremlin's making. His business empire has grown and expanded over the past decade, attaining an ever more violent and dangerous character, from cooking to comms to trolls to mercenaries. Prigozhin's rhetoric over the past weeks against Russia's top military brass has grown ever more virulent and dangerous, and yet he has been allowed to continue unchecked. Perhaps President Vladimir Putin was lulled into a false sense of security because he was never name-checked directly himself. If so, that would appear to have been a terrible oversight. READ MORE

However, Prigozhin said: "Regarding the betrayal of the motherland, the president was deeply mistaken. We are patriots of our homeland."

He has had a long-running feud with the defence ministry in Moscow led by Sergei Shoigu, who he claimed had targeted his troops and ordered a rocket strike on Wagner's camps in Ukraine - killing "a huge number of our comrades".

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 5:51 Sky News analyses Prigozhin videos

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He said the assault happened after he branded the country's military top brass "evil" and argued the Kremlin's rationale for invading Ukraine last February was based on lies.

This has been denied by Moscow, which has described the allegations as "untrue and an informational provocation".

The Wagner forces have played a crucial role in Russia's war in Ukraine, succeeding in taking the city where the bloodiest and longest battles have taken place, Bakhmut.