Wagner chief Prigozhin says his fighters, who were advancing towards Moscow, were turning around and returning to their bases in order to avoid bloodshed.

In an audio message released by his press service, Prigozhin said, “They wanted to disband the Wagner military company. We embarked on a march of justice on June 23. In 24 hours we got to within 200 km [125 miles] of Moscow. In this time, we did not spill a single drop of our fighters’ blood.”

“Now, the moment has come when blood could be spilled. Understanding responsibility [for the chance] that Russian blood will be spilled on one side, we are turning our columns around and going back to field camps as planned.”

Israel has urged its citizens to reconsider their stay in Russia or their travel plans there.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was scheduled to convene security chiefs later in the day, the Defence Ministry said in a statement.

There are an estimated 60 or 70,000 Israelis presently in Russia and around 500,000 Jews who are eligible for immigration to Israel.

Wagner boss Prigozhin says he has ordered his fighters, who had been advancing on Moscow, to turn around and return to their bases in order to avoid bloodshed.

Prigozhin said his fighters had advanced 200km (124 miles) towards Moscow in the last 24 hours.

Read more here.

Ukraine President Zelenskyy has claimed that Russia’s Vladimir Putin is likely “very scared” and hiding someplace as rebel mercenaries advance on Moscow.

“The man from the Kremlin is obviously very scared and is probably hiding somewhere,” Zelenskyy said in his daily address to the nation, adding that Putin has “created this threat himself.”

The office of Belarusian President Lukashenko has said he had brokered a deal with Wagner’s Prigozhin, who had agreed to de-escalate the situation.

The announcement, carried on the official Telegram channel of the Belarusian presidency, said Prigozhin had agreed to halt the further movement of Wagner fighters across Russia.

President Biden spoke today with President Emmanuel Macron of France, Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany, and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the United Kingdom about the situation in Russia, a readout from the White House said.

“The leaders discussed the situation in Russia. They also affirmed their unwavering support for Ukraine,” the statement said.

Ukraine’s top military expert has said that Kyiv has to make a “strategic, principal decision” on how to benefit from the unfolding turmoil in Russia.

One such move could be an order to invade western Russia to bypass massive defence installations on the 1,000-kilometre-long (620-mile-long) front line in eastern and southern Ukraine, according to Lieutenant General Ihor Romanenko.

Read more here.

Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin has warned the situation in the capital was “difficult,” as forces of the Wagner mercenary group moved towards the city to oust Russia’s military leadership.

“The situation is difficult. I ask you to refrain from travelling around the city as much as possible,” Sobyanin said in a statement, warning of possible road closures and announcing Monday was a “non-working” day.

Kyiv’s military commander-in-chief Valery Zaluzhny has told the US chairman of the joint chiefs General Mark Milley that Ukraine’s counteroffensive against invading Russian troops “was going according to plan”.

“We discussed in detail the situation along the entire frontline,” Zaluzhny posted on official social media on Saturday. “I told him about the offensive and offensive actions of our units. I informed him that the operation is going in accordance with the plan.

“I also told him about the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in certain types of weapons and demining assets.”

France advised against all travel to Russia given the “high volatility” of the military and security situation in the country, its foreign ministry has said on its website.

President Vladimir Putin has vowed to crush what he called an armed mutiny after rebellious mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said he had taken control of Rostov-on-Don, the capital of Russia’s southern region of Rostov.

Rostov-on-Don, a city which lies more than 1,000km (660 miles) south of Moscow, is the base for the military headquarters of Russian operations in Ukraine.

Rostov is Russia’s second-largest grain producing region and home to the Don River ports, which connect vessels exporting grain with the Azov Sea.

The British government’s emergency committee, known as COBR, has met to discuss the latest developments in Russia and the risks to British citizens there, a government spokesperson said.

“The foreign secretary has chaired a meeting of COBR to update on the latest situation, particularly with respect to British nationals in Russia,” a government spokesperson said.

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly also took part in a meeting with counterparts from the Group of Seven major advanced economies.

The United Kingdom also repeated its advice that its citizens should not travel to any part of Russia and that those already there should leave.

“If your presence in Russia is not essential, we strongly advise that you consider leaving by remaining commercial routes,” the UK said in a travel advisory.

Wagner mercenaries have been promised an amnesty if they lay down their weapons but they need to act fast, Russia’s state-owned TASS news agency has cited a lawmaker as saying.

“Wagner fighters can still lay down their arms and avoid punishment given their achievements during the special military operation [in Ukraine], but they should do it fast,” TASS quoted the lawmaker, Pavel Krasheninnikov, as saying on Saturday.

Russia’s foreign ministry has warned Western countries against using the Wagner mercenary group’s mutiny “to achieve their Russophobic goals”.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said Turkey was ready to help seek a “peaceful resolution” to an armed rebellion in Russia, in a phone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, his office said.

Erdogan “underlined the importance of acting with common sense,” the presidency said in a statement. “President Erdogan said that we, as Turkey, are ready to do our part for the peaceful resolution of events in Russia as soon as possible.”

Russian authorities in the Kaluga region south of Moscow have introduced travel restrictions as Wagner mercenary units marched on the capital to remove the country’s military leadership.

“Please refrain from travelling by private vehicle on these roads unless absolutely necessary,” Governor Vladislav Shapsha said in a statement on social media on Saturday, referring to transport arteries between his region and several others, including those bordering Ukraine.

Latvia’s president-elect has said the Baltic state had tightened its border security in response to the mutiny under way in Russia and would not be admitting Russians.

“Latvia is closely following the developing situation in Russia … Border security has been strengthened, visa or border entry from Russians leaving Russia due to current events won’t be considered,” Edgars Rinkevics said on Twitter.

“Latvia will not issue humanitarian or other types of visas,” added the president-elect, who is also still the foreign minister.

Latvia had already last year stopped issuing new visas to Russian citizens, but it had until now made an exception for humanitarian visas.

Russian mutineering Wagner mercenaries were “moving across” the Lipetsk region some 400 kilometres (250 miles) south of Moscow, the governor has said, en route to Moscow after pledging to overthrow Russia’s military leadership.

“Hardware of the Wagner mercenary group is moving across the territory of the Lipetsk region,” Governor Igor Artamonov said on Telegram. “I remind you that residents are strongly recommended not to leave their houses or to make trips on any mode of transport.”

Governments around the world are closely watching the events rapidly unfolding in Russia, where a mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group has posed the most serious challenge to President Vladimir Putin’s long rule.

Read more here.

Russia’s close ally Belarus has said that the armed insurrection under way by the Wagner mercenary group was a “gift” to Western countries, warning the uprising could spell “disaster”.

“Any provocation, any internal conflict in military or political circles, in the information field or in civil society is a gift to the collective West,” the Belarusian foreign ministry said, citing a statement by Minsk’s Security Council.

The council reiterated that Minsk remained an ally of Russia.