Vladimir Putin’s days as Russian president may be “numbered in a handful” after the mercenary Wagner Group launched an apparent coup attempt, according to the former head of the British army.

Lord Dannatt, the former chief of the general staff, said Ukraine could use the chaos engulfing the Putin regime to “really change the battlefield situation” in the war.

He spoke as Wagner troops continued their advance towards Moscow and the Russian president accused them of “treason”.

The dramatic developments came after months of tension between Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin and Putin – his former ally – came to a head on Friday night.

Prigozhin accused Moscow of killing 2,000 of his men and warned that those responsible would be “punished”.

In a televised address on Russian TV this morning, Putin accused the Wagner Group of “a stab in the back” after they had initially fought alongside his troops in Ukraine.

He said: “Russia will defend itself and repel this move. We are fighting for the life and security of our citizens.”

Speaking on Times Radio, Lord Dannatt said: “Now, if they [Ukrainian forces] have found by now, one or two weak spots, this could well be the moment where there is huge confusion within Russia, huge confusion amongst the Russian military commander control for the Ukrainians to launch their … manoeuvre brigade groups into a potential breakthrough situation, and really change the battlefield situation in Ukraine”

He added: “If that were to happen, allied with what Prigozhin is doing, then Putin’s days are numbered in a handful, and probably even less.”

Rishi Sunak called for all sides to “be responsible and to protect civilians”.

He spoke after foreign secretary James Cleverly chaired a meeting of the government’s emergency COBRA committee.

In their daily intelligence update on the war, the UK Ministry of Defence said the long-running tensions between the Wagner Group and the Russian military had “escalated into outright military confrontation”.

They said: “Over the coming hours, the loyalty of Russia’s security forces, and especially the Russian National Guard, will be key to how the crisis plays out.

“This represents the most significant challenge to the Russian state in recent times.”

The head of the mercenary Wagner Group has suggested that Russia is setting them up for failure in Ukraine.

Yevgeny Prigozhin said ammunition promised to his troops – some of whom were recruited directly from prison to join the war – has not arrived.

He said that was affecting the Wagner Group’s ability to help Russia hold on to the key city of Bakhmut.

His comments come just weeks after he accused Russian military chiefs of “treason”.

Prigozhin said that orders were signed on February 22 for the group, which is fighting alongside Russian forces, to be sent fresh ammunition the following day. However, most of it never arrived.

In a video uploaded at the weekend, Prigozhin said the lack of ammunition could be “ordinary bureaucracy or a betrayal”.

According to the BBC, he said: “If we step back, we will go down in history as the people who took the main step to lose the war.

“And this is precisely the problem with the [ammunition shortage]. This is not my opinion, but that of ordinary fighters.

“What if they [the Russian authorities] want to set us up, saying that we are scoundrels – and that’s why they are not giving us ammunition, not giving us weapons, and not letting us replenish our personnel, including [recruiting] prisoners?”

He went on to insist that without his group, Russia’s war in Ukraine would be a failure.

“If Wagner PMC [private military company] were to now retreat from Bakhmut, then the entire front – which PMC Wagner today is cementing – would crumble,” he said.

Who are the Wagner Group?

The Wagner private military company (also known as Wagner PMC) really took off in 2014.

It was the same year that Russia had seized the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea and separatists in the Donbas region of Ukraine started to push back against Kyiv.

Headed up and financed by Prigozhin, the covert group of mercenaries began showing up to support the Russian troops in unmarked green uniforms.

At the time, Wagner was so unknown they were nicknamed “little green men”.

Since then, it has grown exponentially, taking on thousands of soldiers who can come straight from elite backgrounds or prison.

Private military contractors are forbidden in Russia, so the whole group works outside of the country’s law.

That means this is a covert group of significant military force and political influence which – according to Vox – makes money by serving Moscow, and exploiting natural commodities in target countries.

Even Prigozhin denied any link to the group until September 2022 when he admitted he founded it.

Prigozhin is also an associate of Vladimir Putin, and was previously nicknamed “Putin’s chef” because of his expanse of catering companies which catered to the Kremlin.