With Wagner mercenary fighters in control of key military installations in southern Russia, President Vladimir Putin on Saturday vowed to quash an armed rebellion that he said threatened to divide Russia, lead the country toward anarchy and undermine hard-won military gains in Ukraine.
Facing the biggest ever challenge of his presidency, Putin said the leaders of the attempted mutiny would "answer before the law and the people" and that "decisive actions" would be taken to stabilize the situation in Rostov-on-Don, the southern Russian city about 60 miles from the Ukraine border where Yevgeniy Prigozhin, the controversial head of the Wagner mercenary group, said on Saturday morning that his armed fighters had seized control of military buildings and facilities, including an airfield. Rostov-on-Don is an important strategic command center for Russia's war in Ukraine.