Russia coup live updates — Desperate Putin ‘needs 7-million-strong army to replace Wagner’ as tyrant’s problems mount

VLADIMIR Putin will need to build an army of seven million men to replace the Wagner mercenary group a top politician in the Kremlin has claimed. Leonid Slutsky said that Russia needs a contract army of at least seven million military on top of the current conscript army following Wagner’s attempted coup. The head of the Liberal Democratic party said on Telegram: “The country does not need any PMCs (private military companies) and their likes. “There are problems in the regular army, but PMCs cannot solve them.” It comes as Putin has said that the Wagner group will be “brought to justice” following this weekend’s coup attempt. Read our Russia coup live blog below for the latest updates…