Russian forces and the country's private military firm Wagner Group are believed to have avoided a major armed clash, after the group's leader claimed his mercenaries turned back from their advance on Moscow.

Yevgeny Prigozhin advanced his forces toward the capital on Saturday after they captured Russia's district military headquarters in the country's southern region of Rostov. Prigozhin had been increasingly at odds with the Russian defense ministry over military operations in Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin described Prigozhin's move as a "betrayal" and instructed the military to take decisive action.

Soon after, Prigozhin said he ordered his mercenaries to turn back. He also withdrew his forces from the military headquarters.

The group's apparent retreat came after the Belarusian presidential office said on social media that Prigozhin had held talks with the country's President Alexander Lukashenko.

The office said Prigozhin accepted Lukashenko's proposal to take further measures to defuse tensions, indicating that the president had brokered a deal.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday night that Prigozhin would go to Belarus. Peskov stressed that the situation would not affect what Russia calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine.