Wagner military column 340 km off from Moscow PHOTO

Columns of Wagner private military company (PMC) passed Yelets in Russia’s Lipetsk region.

Earlier it was reported about the video of military equipment moving along the highway in the Lipetsk region, Caliber.Az reports referring the Telegram channel "Mediazone".

"Information about the total number of vehicles and personnel in the columns varies - some say 150 units of equipment, some say 400 units in four separate columns," the post says.

Notably, the distance between Yelets and Moscow is 340 kilometres along a straight line, without taking into account the terrain and checkpoints. The main roadblocks and positions of law enforcement agencies are near the bridge across the Oka River on the approaches to Moscow and on the M4 highway.

The Meduza portal geolocated one of the videos and specifies that the "Wagnerians" were spotted in the village of Krasnoe, 40 kilometres from Yeltsi in the northwest Lipetsk region.

The dramatic escalation came after Prigozhin accused Russia's military of hitting his group's base in Ukraine - a claim denied by Moscow.

Prigozhin claims this is not a military coup - but his aim seems to be to topple Russia's military leadership. His mercenaries have seized "all military facilities" in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don.

The Wagner militants are also said to have reportedly gained control over Voronezh, further north, following his threat to march on Moscow to topple Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu.

President Vladimir Putin said this action of Prigozhin is "a stab in the back" and pledged to punish those who had "betrayed" Russia.

Tightened security has been introduced in many regions, including Moscow.

The Wagner Group is a private army of mercenaries that has been fighting alongside the regular Russian army in Ukraine.

Tension has been growing between them over how the war in Ukraine should have been fought, with Prigozhin launching vocal criticisms of Russia's military leadership in recent months.