The man who led his private military in the direction of Moscow, threatening top Russian defense officials, said his intent was not to overthrow the government.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner Group, led his troops from Ukraine into Russia, where they briefly seized the city of Rostov in what he called a "march for justice." With his troops facing limited resistance, they reached roughly 120 miles from Moscow before Prigozhin abruptly called off the rebellion, with various officials saying he agreed to flee to Belarus.

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The Wagner leader posted his first public comments since agreeing to cease his trek to the capital on Monday, days after a decree that his soldiers would have to join the Russian military and a subsequent supposed air attack on his forces by the ministry, which prompted the apparent coup attempt.

“We didn't march to overthrow Russia's leadership and turned around to avoid spilling the blood of Russian soldiers. We regret that we had to hit Russian aviation. Our march aimed to prevent the destruction of Wagner. We wanted to hold accountable those who made mistakes during the special military operation,” he said, according to the Kyiv Post.

“We regret that we were forced to strikes on aircraft," Prigozhin added, according to CNN, "but these aircraft dropped bombs and launched missile strikes."

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Ultimately, the Belarusian government said it had brokered a deal to end Prigozhin's pursuit of Moscow, though the Wagner founder said that decision was "made [after] a reconnaissance of the area, and it was obvious that at that moment a lot of blood would be shed. We felt that demonstrating what we were going to do was sufficient."

Russian authorities are reportedly continuing their investigation into the rebellion.