Wagner rebels ‘only a door away from getting to Putin's NUKES’ as frantic truce with mutinous warlord Prigozhin revealed | The Sun

THE rebellious Wagner Group was very close to getting to Vladimir Putin's nuclear arsenal during their mutiny, Ukraine's spy chief has claimed.

While Wagner's forces headed toward Moscow during their coup attempt, a convoy of military vehicles diverted east towards the Voronezh-45 nuclear base.

The mercenaries got about 60 miles near the nuclear storage site before the surveillance trail went cold.

But Major General Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine's head of military intelligence, claims Wagner reached the nuclear base hoping to steal small Soviet-era nuclear devices.

He told Reuters: "Because if you are prepared to fight until the last man standing, this is one of the facilities that significantly raises the stakes."

He said that the small nuclear devices, that can be carried in a backpack are being stored at the site which was "one of the key storage facilities for these backpacks."

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Budanov claimed that the mercenaries entered the facility but did not access the Russian nukes as the doors of the storage were shut.

He added: "The doors of the storage were closed and they didn’t get into the technical section."

US officials said they could not corroborate the claim with a spokesman for the US National Security Council saying: "We had no indication at any point that nuclear weapons or materials were at risk."

However, a source close to the Kremlin said Wagner mercenaries"managed to get into a zone of special interest, as a result of which the Americans got agitated because nuclear munitions are stored there."

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Another source in Russian-held east Ukraine said the attempt caused concern in Moscow prompting a quick negotiation to end the coup.

The small nuclear bombs that are light enough to be carried by one person date back to the Cold War.

US and Soviet troops were trained to deploy them behind enemy lines but both states agreed to stop their use in the 1990s – although it remains unclear whether Russia destroyed all of the devices.

Former official at the US National Nuclear Security Administration David Jonas, said: "I don't believe the Russians still have them, but I wouldn't bet my life on it."

While former nuclear weapons specialist for the US Congress Amy Woolf, doubted whether the devices would still be functioning.

She said: "It’s possible there’s still some old crap stuck in storage somewhere. But is it operational? Almost certainly not."

Budanov's claim comes right after Moscow said that Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin met with the Russian leader in Kremlin just days following his failed coup.

The Russian dictator is said to have ordered the Wagner chief to assassinate Ukraine's president and"bring back his head."

The secret meeting that was held while Prigozhin was meant to go into exile, came five days after Wagner mercenaries brought Russia to the brink of civil war.

The bombshell meeting was revealed today by French paper Liberation, quoting intelligence sources, and confirmed by Putin's mouthpiece.

Peskov said 35 people were invited to a three-hour summit, including Prigozhin and senior field commanders in his Wagner private army.

Putin is said to have praised the group's efforts in Ukraine, less than a week after he told his troops they stopped a "civil war."

Peskov said: "The only thing we can say is that the president gave his assessment of the company's actions at the front during the Special Military Operation and also gave his assessment of the events of June 24."

He also claimed Wagner commanders had reaffirmed their loyalty to Putin at the Kremlin meeting.

He said: "They (the commanders) emphasised that they are staunch supporters and soldiers of the head of state and the supreme commander-in-chief. They also said that they are ready to continue fighting for the Motherland."

Just five days earlier, the mercenaries had seized Russia's war HQ in Rostov-on-Don and shot down a number of aircraft as they came within 120 miles of Moscow.

Prigozhin himself claimed the mutiny was not to overthrow Putin but instead targeted his defence minister Sergei Shoigu and army chief Valery Gerasimov, who he blames for failures in Ukraine.

The news about the secret meeting follow the mystery surrounding Prigozhin's whereabouts.

The billionaire warlord was supposed to go into exile in Belarus under a deal brokered by Vlad's puppet Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

At least one army camp was set up for 8,000 of his Wagner soldiers to follow him and establish a new base on Nato's border – but it was left empty.

And Lukashenko backtracked on his earlier claim that Prigozhin was in Minsk, saying he believed the Wagner boss was actually in St Petersburg.

Air tracker sites show his private jet crisscrossing Russia in recent days amid mounting rumours another deal had been done in private to allow him to stay.

And Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg revealed: “We monitor closely where the Wagner soldiers are moving around, and also where he [Prigozhin] is moving”.

He said Prigozhin had been “moving a bit around”, without saying where.

And he added: “I will not go into the details, but we have seen some preparations for hosting large groups of Wagner soldiers in Belarus. So far we haven’t seen so many of them going to Belarus.”

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Last week Prigozhin's mansion was raided by police, who revealed images of gold bars, guns and framed photos of severed heads.

They also revealed a cupboard full of wigs and pictures of Prigozhin in a series of comical disguises.

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