Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner Group claimed that he did not intend to overthrow the government in Russia, in the first audio message since calling his forces to revolt on Saturday.

Protesting Ineffectual Conduct of War in Ukraine

Prigozhin claimed that his call had been intended to register a protest at the ineffectual conduct of the war in Ukraine, not to overthrow the government in Moscow.

11-Minute Audio Message on Telegram

Prigozhin spoke in an 11-minute audio message released on the Telegram messaging app.

“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.

Revealing Serious Security Problems in Russia

He noted that the march on Moscow over the weekend had shown up “very serious security problems” in Russia.

Prigozhin said the convoy stopped 200 kilometres (125 miles) short of Moscow and had “blocked all military infrastructure” including air bases along its path.