MOSCOW, June 26 — Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said today, in his first public comments since ending a one-day mutiny by his Wagner force on Saturday, that it had been intended to register a protest at the ineffectual conduct of the war in Ukraine, not to overthrow the government in Moscow.

Prigozhin spoke in an 11-minute audio message released on the Telegram messaging app. — Reuters