Prigozhin responds to Putin, says Wagner not going to surrender
The Wagner Group's Yevgeny Prigozhin responded to Russian President Vladimir Putin's calling him a "traitor," by saying he will not surrender or turn back.
"Putin was deeply mistaken about the betrayal. We are patriots of our homeland, we fought and are fighting," Prighozin said in an audio message. "No one is going to turn around at the request of the president, the FSB or anyone else, because we do not want the country to live longer in corruption, deception and bureaucracy."
![PHOTO: Wagner private mercenary group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin speaks with Russian Deputy Minister of Defense Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, at the headquarters of the Southern Military District of the Russian Armed Forces in Rostov-on-Don, Russia on June 24, 2023.](https://i.abcnewsfe.com/a/5f2d2172-4337-486b-8f7b-0cdfd8881798/Yevgeny-Prigoz_hpEmbed_20230624-041506_16x9.jpg)
Prigozhin accused Russia's military of targeting a Wagner column with helicopters and jets.
-ABC News' Patrick Reevell