MOSCOW- Rebellious Russian mercenary fighters are on their way towards Moscow on Saturday after seizing a city overnight, with Russia's military not able to slow their lightning advance.

Facing such a serious challenge, President Vladimir Putin vowed to crush an armed mutiny he compared to Russia's Civil War a century ago.

Reports claim that troop carriers and a flatbed truck carrying a tank moved past the city of Voronezh more than halfway to Moscow, where a helicopter fired on them. But the rebels never met any substantial resistance on the highway.

Wagner Group, run by former Putin ally Yevgeny Prigozhin, supported Russian troops on the Ukraine front. But in the past few months, Prigozhin has come out against the Russian military leadership and accused Russia of not supplying enough weapons to Wagner's troops fighting in Ukraine. Wagner Group going hostile has dealt a heavy blow to Russia.

The Wagner Group demanded that Moscow be the next target and every common man should join the fight for it.

As per reports, the mercenary group aims to oust Putin from the position of Russian president immediately and this is being spread through pro-Wagner Telegram channels. Fearing an advance by the Wagner group, the army reportedly blew up the bridge leading to Moscow city. After that, the news came out that Putin left Russia, facing the possibility of a coup. But there is currently no official confirmation in this regard and Putin is still in Moscow as per official sources.

Meanwhile, the Chechen Army has come out in support of Putin. They have also informed that their troops will be deployed to counter the Wagner Group. And it remains to be seen whether Ukraine's military circles will capitalize on Putin's mercenary backlash.