The head of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has announced that he will run in next year's presidential election. But not in Russia, as some might suppose, but "in Ukraine".

"The important announcement" came in a video message, recorded as gunshots are heard in the background, allegedly from the Bakhmut front.

In the video, Prigozhin, 61, says he has "political ambitions" and will run in Ukraine's next presidential election in 2024 against former Ukrainian President Poroshenko and current Zelensky. Then a nod again to the current problem of ammunition supplies for Wagner's military: "If I win the elections we will no longer need it."