RUSSIAN MUTINY

Bloodbath is averted as mercenaries turn back | Rebels say Russia killed scores of its own fighters

- NICOLA SMALL and PATRICK HILL

RUSSIA last night pulled back from the brink of a bloody civil war after rebel Wagner Group mercenaries agreed to halt a march on Moscow.

Led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner troops had stormed the key Russian stronghold of Rostov-on-Don and sent a convoy towards the capital.

An oil depot was blown up in the city of Voronezh, where Prigozhin claimed his convoy was fired on by Russian aircraft.

But as the clock ticked down to a feared bloodbath, the Wagner chief agreed to "de-escalate the situation" after holding talks with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

Prigozhin agreed to stop the movement of his troops to avoid Russian bloodshed- and in return for security guarantees for his fighters.

It was a remarkable step back, just hours after he posted a video angrily declaring: "This is not a military coup, but a march of justice. The evil embodied by the country's military leadership must be stopped.

Russian TV channel Russia-24 said peace talks had been approved by President Vladimir Putin, who earlier described the rebellion as a mutiny, a betrayal and a "stab in the back for our country".

MISSILE

The world watched in disbelief and alarm as events unfolded in the early hours of yesterday.

The Mayor of Moscow told people to stay home, a "non-work day" was declared for tomorrow and public events were cancelled until July 1.

Checkpoints were set up across the capital and flights out of the city were reportedly selling out.

The 25,000-strong Wagner militia is a group of thuggish mercenaries, including prisoners freed in exchange for fighting in Ukraine.

They swooped on Rostov, blaming Russia for a missile attack on their training camp in Bakhmut, Ukraine.

Prigozhin said scores of his men died - and claimed Russia's Defence Minister, Sergei Shoigu, ordered the attack before then fleeing.