Statements and actions of the founder of the mercenary group Wagner Yevgeny Prigozhin are in fact calls for an armed civil conflict, the Federal Security Service of Russia said on Saturday, the Russian state news agency TASS reports.

“Prygozhin’s statements and actions are in fact calls for the start of an armed civil conflict on the territory of Russia and are a stab in the back to the Russian military, who are fighting pro-fascist Ukrainian formations,” the FSB said.

The department also stated that Prigozhin’s statements about alleged attacks by the Russian Ministry of Defense on Wagner’s group are untrue and are a provocation.

“All the information spread on social networks on behalf of Prigozhin about the alleged missile strikes and bombing of the Russian Ministry of Defense on the rear parts of the “Wagner” PMK is untrue and constitutes an information challenge,” the FSB added.