Wagner fighters neared Russian nuclear base during revolt

FILE PHOTO: A military column of Wagner private mercenary group drives along M-4 highway, which links the capital Moscow with Russia's southern cities, with smoke from a burning fuel tank at an oil depot seen in the background, near Voronezh, Russia, June 24, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

(Reuters) -As rebellious Wagner forces drove north toward Moscow on June 24, a contingent of military vehicles diverted east on a highway in the direction of a fortified Russian army base that holds nuclear weapons, according to videos posted online and interviews with local residents.

Once the Wagner fighters reach more rural regions, the surveillance trail goes cold – about 100 km from the nuclear base, Voronezh-45. Reuters could not confirm what happened next, and Western officials have repeatedly said that Russia's nuclear stockpile was never in danger during the uprising, which ended quickly and mysteriously later that day.