The head of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who has recently clashed with the Russian military leadership, has accused the Russian army of trying to blow up his men.

In May, the Wagnerites captured the Ukrainian Bakhmut after months of bloody battles and have since surrendered their positions to regular Russian forces.

Today, Prigozhin said on Telegram that his troops found a dozen locations where Ministry of Defense employees planted explosives, including anti-tank mines, saying they were ordered to do so by their superiors, Sky News reports.

Prigogine claims that such a thing was not intended to deter the enemy, given that the mines were laid in the area behind the front line.

"Therefore, we assume that the explosive devices were intended for Wagner's units advancing towards the objective," he said.

"Nothing exploded and no one was hurt." We assume this is an attempt at public flogging," he added.

The Russian Defense Ministry has not commented on these latest allegations against Prigozhin.