Putin fears the coup, withdraws Wagner's 50,000 mercenaries from the battlefield in Ukraine

The 50,000-strong squad, many of them convicted criminals, have played a key role in brutal fighting in eastern Ukraine, but founder Yevgeny Pigozin has banned the recruits of prisoners and will withdraw his troops within weeks according to recent reports.

British media have suggested that they will be replaced by regular soldiers among about 300,000 new troops going to war.

The lowering of Wagner's position in Ukraine was ordered after President Vladimir Putin became increasingly concerned about his position, because Pigozin and Chechen leader Ramzan Cadyrov are becoming more and more powerful in the region.

The duo, along with recently promoted Russian General Sergey Surovkin, are suspected of a possible plot against Putin to take power inside the Kremlin, while the latter is thought to be taking steps to preserve the president's chair.