Russian commander urges Wagner fighters to obey ‘will’ of Putin while gripping gun

Senior Russian military officers have urged Wagner contractors to stop their efforts for an armed rebellion aimed at ousting Russia’s defence minister.

Sergei Surovikin, the deputy commander of the Russian group of forces fighting in Ukraine, told the Wagner forces to obey “the will” of Vladimir Putin and stop any move against the army.

“We mustn’t play into the enemy’s hands in this difficult moment for the country,” he said, gripping a gun.

Another top military officer, Vladimir Alexeyev, denounced Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s move as “madness” and threatened to unleash a civil war in Russia.