NUKE WARNING
Nuclear weapons falling into hands of Wagner ‘bandits’ would bring world to ‘the brink of catastrophe’, warns Putin ally
THE world would be on the brink of catastrophe if nuclear weapons fall in the hands of Wagner 'bandits', warned Putin ally Dmitry Medvedev.
His warning came as Prigozhin's troops marched towards Moscow before a shock u-turn saw him stand his troops down just 120 miles from the capital.
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He told TASS: "We are well aware of the consequences of a coup d’etat in the largest nuclear power.
"In the history of human race there has never been a situation where the largest arsenal of nuclear weapons was controlled by bandits.
"Such a crisis will obviously not be limited to a single country. The world will be brought to the brink of annihilation."
Medvedev, now deputy chairman of the Security Council, said no matter how much Wagner's "crazy criminals" want to see these events materialise, Russia will not let it happen.
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His comments come as Vladimir Putin is facing the biggest challenge to his iron fist rule since he rose to power in the aftermath of the collapsed Soviet Union and took control of the Kremlin more than two decades ago.
What we know:
- Wagner Group forces were in open rebellion as an arrest warrant was issued for warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin
- Putin delivered an early morning address, raging: "This is treason"
- Mercenary company marched on Moscow with 25,000 soldiers after crossing border from the battlefields in Ukraine
- And then an eleventh-hour intervention seemingly saw Priogzhin agree to stand down his men
- Rishi Sunak called a Cobra meeting as the UK monitored the situation along with the rest of the West
- Ukraine celebrated the infighting in Russia - and said it showed weakness
- Experts warned it could be the start of a full-scale Civil War and Putin's regime may not last more than 24 hours
- Wagner troops engaged with Russian military forces on the road to Moscow
- Helicopters and a spy plane were reportedly shot down, and an oil depot was blown up
- Wagner warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed he wanted to oust the Russian military top brass
- Priogzhin used to be a staunch ally of Putin, but appears to have turned on him over Ukraine
Yevgeny Prigozhin claims he has agreed to stand down and end the chaos in Russia - even with his troops just 120 miles from Moscow.
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Nuclear weapons have been the centre of controversy for Russia and its allies as only weeks ago, nuclear missiles were moved to Belarus within striking distance of NATO territories.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko vowed he "won't hesitate" to use the deadly weapons if under threat.
The addition of nuclear weapons to Belarus provides Russia with an advantage, as they can now strike within NATO territories.
Putin issued a chilling nuclear threat: "The United States pretends not to be afraid of an escalation of the conflict in Ukraine, but sane people there clearly do not want to take this to a Third World War.
"In the event of a Third World War, there will be no winners, including America."
The movement of the deadly nukes to Belarus is Moscow's first move of such warheads outside Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union.
The Iskander family of missiles are designed to hit targets at relatively short distances with great power and speed - up to 5,800mph.
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