Wagner chief claims his forces downed Russian military helicopter

The chief of the mercenary group Wagner Yevgeny Prigozhin said early Saturday that his forces had shot down a Russian military helicopter.

“A helicopter has just now opened fire at a civilian column. It has been shot down by units of PMC Wagner,” Prigozhin said in a new audio message.

He did not provide any details and AFP could not verify the claim.

Prigozhin earlier said his units, which have for months spearheaded an assault in eastern Ukraine, had entered the southern Russian region of Rostov.

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Prigozhin accused Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov of ordering strikes against his units even though they were moving among civilian vehicles.