Prigozhin had earlier told his troops heading towards the Russian capital to turn back, saying he wants to avoid shedding Russian blood.

In an audio message, Prigozhin said his fighters - part of the private mercenary Wagner Group - would return to their bases.

He said that while his men were just 120 miles from Moscow, he decided to turn them back to avoid "shedding Russian blood".

Wagner boss turns his troops around - Russia mutiny latest

Prigozhin had earlier vowed to "destroy anyone who stands in our way".

In his message, Prigozhin added: "In 24 hours we reached within 200km of Moscow. Over that time we didn't shed a single drop of our men's blood.

"Now though the time has come when blood might be shed. Therefore, mindful of the responsibility that Russian blood might be shed by one of the parties, we are turning our columns round and moving off in the opposite direction, to the field camps, according to plan."

In a statement, the Kremlin said all criminal charges against Prigozhin will be dropped, and none of the Wagner Group fighters will be prosecuted.

It also said the mercenary leader will move to Belarus, but does not currently know his location.

"Avoiding bloodshed was more important than punishing people," it added.

Earlier, the Russian president accused the leader of the Wagner group of treason and leading an "armed mutiny".

Condemning the actions of one-time ally Prigozhin, who was leading a rebellion to oust Russia's defence minister, he branded it a "stab in the back" to the country's soldiers and people.

But Prigozhin denied a betrayal and called his fighters "patriots".

The convoy had earlier moved rapidly from Russia's south and was thought to be around the Lipetsk region, around 300 miles (500km) from the centre of Moscow, before it was put to an end.

Earlier, Russian media showed groups of police manning machine gun positions at Moscow's southern border.

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The crisis came as Prigozhin claimed he and his troops had reached Rostov-on-Don after crossing the Russian border from Ukraine and taken control of key sites including the airfield.

The city is home to the Russian military headquarters that directs the invading forces in Ukraine.

The mercenary group was also said to have seized defence facilities in the city of Voronezh, around 310 miles (500km) south of Moscow.

The Russian army carried out "combat measures" in the Voronezh region "as part of the counter-terrorist operation", according to its governor Alexander Gusev.

In a televised address earlier, Putin said: "It's the equivalent to armed mutiny.

"Russia will defend itself and repel this move.

"We are fighting the life and security of our citizens.

"It's an attempt to subvert us from inside.

"This is a stab in the back to our troops and the people of Russia."

He added: "The entire military, economic and information machine of the West is waged against us.

"This battle, when the fate of our people is being decided, requires the unification of all forces, unity, consolidation and responsibility.

"Those who plotted and organised an armed rebellion, who raised arms against his comrades-in-arms, betrayed Russia. And they will answer for it."

However, Prigozhin said: "Regarding the betrayal of the motherland, the president was deeply mistaken. We are patriots of our homeland."

He has had a long-running feud with the defence ministry in Moscow led by Sergei Shoigu, who he claimed had targeted his troops and ordered a rocket strike on Wagner's camps in Ukraine - killing "a huge number of our comrades".

Read more:
Dangerous Wagner mercenary boss was disaster waiting to happen for Putin
Who is Yevgeny Prigozhin and why does Putin feel threatened by him?

He said the assault happened after he branded the country's military top brass "evil" and argued the Kremlin's rationale for invading Ukraine last February was based on lies.

This has been denied by Moscow, which has described the allegations as "untrue and an informational provocation".

The Wagner forces have played a crucial role in Russia's war in Ukraine, succeeding in taking the city where the bloodiest and longest battles have taken place, Bakhmut.