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Two Wagner Group mercenaries were allegedly executed for failing to back the uprising against Vladimir Putin's regime in Russia last month.
The dead bodies of two unnamed men dressed in military gear were found close to the Voronezh-Luhansk highway in the Voronezh region, which borders Ukraine. A military jeep with a weapon inside was found close to the scene.
They had been shot and had no identifying documentation.
READ MORE: Putin's pal 'Goebbels in a skirt' blasts 'bomb Tower Bridge in revenge for Crimea'
According to reports in Russia, a suspected assassin named Yaroslav Shekhovtsov, 35, has been detained.
BAZA reports Shekhovtsov confessed to shooting the men after they refused to take part in the Wagner rebellion.
The mercenaries, led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, marched towards Moscow on June 24, incensed over the Russian Defence Ministry's handling of the war in Ukraine.
Shekhovtsov is a commander within the Wagner Group. A murder case has now been opened by Russian authorities, reports suggest.
The Wagner uprising was ostensibly against Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu as well as General Valery Gerasimov, head of the Russian armed forces.
Prigozhin eventually ordered his men turn around before they reached the capital, saying afterwards he wanted to avoid bloodshed.
Putin's men were readied on the outskirts of Moscow while the president fled.
The dramatic U-turn is thought to have come after a deal was struck between Prigozhin and the Russian government. That deal was brokered by Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko.
Prigozhin faced treason charges, although they seem to have been dropped by Putin.
The two men used to be close allies. Prigozhin is even known as 'Putin's Chef' after winning lucrative catering contracts to supply the Kremlin.
Although initial reports suggested Prigozhin had been exiled to Belarus for good following his rebellion, it now appears as if he is freely allowed to move between Belarus and Russia.
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- Russia
- Russia Ukraine war
- Ukraine
- Vladimir Putin
- Shooting
- Military
- Murder
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