President Vladimir Putin has reportedly left Moscow as Wagner paramilitary fighters intensified their onslaught across Russia to seize control of the country.
Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said Mr Putin made a mistake when the Russian president condemned the private military group and threatened to punish its members for armed rebellion.
TASS, Russia’s main government-run outlet, reported that Putin fled to St Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city, on Saturday.
East European news outlet Nexta also reported that Putin’s plane took off from Moscow and disappeared from the radar. It was heading towards St Petersburg at about 2:16 p.m. local time. The flight suddenly disappeared from the radar, reports said.
A spokesman for the Kremlin denied Putin had fled, but most Russians believed the news agency. The contradictory report also indicates that there’s a breakdown of command in Russia, as it is extremely rare for the statement of the…