Russian mercenary boss vows to avenge army 'destruction' of his force; Moscow denies accusation

FILE PHOTO: Founder of Wagner private mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin leaves a cemetery before the funeral of a Russian military blogger who was killed in a bomb attack in a St Petersburg cafe, in Moscow, Russia, April 8, 2023. REUTERS/Yulia Morozova/File Photo

(Reuters) - Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin on Friday accused the Russian military of destroying his fighters, without explaining his accusation, and vowed to stop the "evil" of the military leadership.

The Defence Ministry quickly issued a statement saying Prigozhin's accusations "do not correspond to reality and are an informational provocation".