A senior Russian official has warned that if Prigozhin's rebellion is successful, Russia's vast nuclear arsenal could fall into the hands of Wagner Group mercenaries and pose an existential threat to the world.
“The history of mankind hasn’t yet seen the largest arsenal of nuclear weapons under control by bandits,” Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy head of Russia’s Security Council chaired by President Vladimir Putin, said in remarks carried by Russian news agencies. “Such a crisis will not be limited by just one country’s borders, the world will be put on the brink of destruction.”
He added that “we won't allow such a turn of events.”
Medvedev, a former Russian president, has become notorious for his outlandish comments relating to the war in Ukraine, the threat of nuclear escalation, and Russia’s ever-deteriorating relations with Western nations.
Fox News' Caitlin McFall and the Associated Press contributed to this report.