Russia was plunged into a crisis when the leader of the country’s biggest mercenary army, Yevgeny Prigozhin, declared he would take down the Kremlin’s defense leadership. Prigozhin, who heads Wagner, a private military company that had been supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, announced that Russian forces had attacked a Wagner camp in Ukraine.

He claimed to have mobilized 25,000 of the group’s fighters to march against the military elite in Moscow and called on Russian troops to join him.

Putin vowed to crush the rebellion.

But after marching through several cities on a sweeping path toward Moscow, Prigozhin published an audio recording claiming he was turning his forces around and returning to “field camps” in Ukraine. He said his troops had come within 125 miles of Moscow.

Here’s how the fast-moving events unfolded.

1. Prigozhin goes after Russia’s military leadership

In audio messages released overnight, Prigozhin called Russia’s military leadership “evil,” adding “those who destroyed our guys today, those who destroyed tens, many tens of thousands of lives of Russian soldiers, will be punished.” Prigozhin did not, however, attack Putin. Russia’s main security agency, the FSB, late Friday accused Prigozhin of “incitement to armed rebellion.”

After Prigozhin’s comments, videos showed military vehicles leaving the defense ministry in Moscow.

2. Wagner takes over the military headquarters of Rostov-on-Don

Just hours later, on Saturday morning, videos emerged showing unidentified fighters outside Russia’s Southern Military District headquarters in the city of Rostov-on-Don.

Fighters surrounded the building with military vehicles as stunned residents watched. Additional videos show armed fighters taking positions and patrolling the city’s downtown area, with tanks surrounding government facilities.

3. Prigozhin releases video from Rostov

Prigozhin released a video from a key southern command center saying he had control of the area. Prigozhin is seen entering the southern military district headquarters then meeting with Russia’s Deputy Defense Minister Yunus-bek Yevkurov. In the past, the Wagner chief has railed against Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu for his disorganized approach to the war effort, as well as accusing him of lying about casualties and denying supplies and ammunition to Wagner troops during the brutal fight for the Ukrainian town of Bakhmut.

4. Putin speaks

At around 10 a.m. Moscow time, Putin addressed the nation. He vowed to crush the Prigozhin-led rebellion. Once a staunch Putin ally, Prigozhin earned his massive fortune through government catering contracts that included the military. Wagner helped train pro-Russian separatists who seized territory in eastern Ukraine in 2014. But throughout the invasion, he has publicly railed against Russia’s military establishment for their handling of the fight, even accusing them of tricking Putin into invading.

Prigozhin responded to Putin’s address, saying the president was mistaken. He added “we are patriots of our motherland, we’ve been fighting and continue to fight, all Wagner fighters, and no one plans to go and confess at the request of the president, the [Federal Security Service] or anyone else, because we do not want the country to continue to live in corruption, deceit and bureaucracy.”

5. Wagner troops head toward Moscow

The British Defense Ministry said Saturday that Wagner units were spotted traveling north through the Voronezh region, “almost certainly aiming to get to Moscow.”

Footage showed troops traveling near Yelets, a Russian city some 240 miles from the capital.

6. Moscow prepares

Moscow braced for Wagner’s approach. Roadblocks were put up on most routes into the capital.

7. Prigozhin backs down

In an audio message, Prigozhin ordered his fighters to turn around and return to their bases in order to avoid bloodshed. He said his fighters had advanced within 124 miles of Moscow in the last 24 hours. A statement by the Belarusian government claimed that President Alexander Lukashenko, in agreement with Putin, held talks with Prigozhin and that the Wagner boss accepted a proposal to halt his march to Moscow.

“In this time, we did not spill a single drop of our fighters’ blood,” Prigozhin said. “Now the moment has come when blood could be spilled. Understanding the responsibility that Russian blood will be spilled on one side, we are turning our columns around and going back to field camps as planned.”

The Washington Post’s Samuel Oakford, Dalton Bennett, Evan Hill, Joyce Lee and Meg Kelly contributed to this report.

previous coverage

• US spies learned in mid-June Prigozhin was plotting Russia uprising
• Who is Yevgeniy Prigozhin, Wagner chief accused by Putin of 'armed rebellion'?