The Wagner mercenary fighters who are challenging the Russian defence establishment are planning to overthrow the state, according to the deputy head of the Russian Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev.
"It is obvious that this is a well-thought-out and planned operation whose aim is to take power in the country," Medvedev said, according to Russian news agencies.
The actions of those who organized the military uprising "fully fit the pattern of a well-planned and orchestrated overthrow of the state," said Medvedev, a loyal Putin ally and former Russian leader.
Medvedev did not rule out the possibility that former members of Russian elite military units could also be involved in the uprising or even fighters from abroad.
He said this showed the high level of preparation for the uprising and the good control of troop movements. Medvedev did not mention the head of the private Wagner army, Yevgeny Prigozhin, by name.
Armed columns of the mercenaries set off on Saturday from the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don towards Moscow. Medvedev said a coup against the largest nuclear power "threatens to bring the world to the brink of destruction."
The Russian leadership will not allow such a scenario, he said.
