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3m ago
(04:37 GMT)Ukraine military says monitoring Wagner conflict with Moscow
The Ukrainian military said it is following the infighting in Moscow after the head of the Wagner mercenary force accused Russia’s armed forces of attacking one of his bases inside Ukraine.
“We are watching,” the Ukrainian defence ministry tweeted earlier on Saturday, while Ukraine’s military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said rival Russian factions had begun to “eat each other over power and money”.
Russia’s Wagner mercenary force boss threatens Bakhmut withdrawal -
37m ago
(04:03 GMT)Russia’s M-4 motorway closed to traffic 400km south of Moscow: Regional governor
The governor of the Lipetsk region in central Russia said that the M-4 motorway connecting Moscow with southern regions was closed to traffic at the border with the Voronezh region, some 400km (around 250 miles) south of Moscow, Reuters reports.
The motorway closure comes amid reports that an armed convoy of Wagner fighters had entered Russian territory with the stated aim of removing the country’s military leadership.
Head of Russia’s Wagner group berates army chiefs -
58m ago
(03:42 GMT)Russian armoured personnel carriers seen on streets of Moscow
Journalist Yulia Shapovalova, reporting from Moscow, said that Russian armoured personnel carriers could be seen on the streets of Moscow and that security had been stepped up though the situation remained calm in the city.
“Generally people report that the capital looks pretty calm right now,” Shapovalova said earlier on Saturday.
“That’s probably because security measures have been stepped up here in Moscow and all the most important facilities – state authorities and transport facilities – have been taken under protection,” she said.
The mayor of Moscow reported that “anti-terror” measures were being taken in the Russian capital amid a threat to the country’s military leadership by the Wagner mercenary force.
“In connection with the incoming information in Moscow, anti-terrorist measures aimed at strengthening security are being taken,” Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said on social media.
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1h ago
(03:24 GMT)Moscow’s mayor announces ‘anti-terror’ measures in capital
Moscow’s mayor Sergey Sobyanin said that anti-terrorist measures were being taken in the Russian capital, including additional checks on roads to reinforce security, Reuters has reported.
The increased security measures in Russia’s capital come amid claims by Wagner mercenary force chief Prigozhin that his fighters had entered Russia to remove senior military leaders in Moscow.
Law enforcement vehicles are seen in front of the Kremlin’s Spasskaya Tower in central Moscow, Russia, on June 24, 2023 [Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters] -
1h ago
(03:14 GMT)Russia launches missile attacks on Ukrainian cities
Russia launched a wave of missile attacks on Ukraine early on Saturday, causing damage and casualties, according to Ukrainian authorities.
In the central city of Dnipro, “several houses were completely destroyed”, mayor Borys Filatov said on Telegram.
Air defences also “detected and destroyed more than 20 missiles in the airspace around Kyiv”, said Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv military administration.
Falling debris caused a fire in a 24-storey building, and seven people were injured and about 40 cars were damaged, Popko said.
In Kharkiv city, a gas pipeline was destroyed, causing a fire but no casualties, regional governor Oleh Sinegubov said.
The Ukrainian air force also reported missiles flying in the direction of the northern regions of Sumy and Poltava.
Rescuers work at the site of an apartment building damaged during a Russian missile attack on Kyiv, Ukraine, June 24, 2023 [Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters] Advertisement
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1h ago
(02:56 GMT)Military convoy on motorway connecting Moscow and southern Russia: Regional officials
The government of the southern Russian Voronezh region has urged residents to avoid the M-4 north-south motorway that connects Moscow to southern regions because a military convoy was on the move.
The government said on its Telegram channel that the situation was under control and that measures were being taken to ensure public safety, the Reuters news agency reported.
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2h ago
(02:40 GMT)Wagner chief says move against Russian military a ‘march for justice’: Think tank
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a Washington, DC-based think tank, said that Prigozhin claimed his actions were agreed by Wagner commanders and were designed to, in his words, stop “the evil brought by the military leadership” in Moscow, who he accused of allowing Russian soldiers to die in Ukraine.
“Prigozhin urged the Russian people not to resist, to remain calm, remain in their homes, and warned that Wagner will ‘deal’ with those who destroyed Russian soldiers before returning to the front lines in Ukraine after restoring justice for all,” the ISW said.
“Prigozhin also notably accused Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu of personally planning an operation to destroy Wagner and claimed that 25,000 Wagner personnel are prepared to act,” the institute said.
Prigozhin also claimed that his actions were not a “coup”, only a “march for justice”, according to the ISW.
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2h ago
(02:19 GMT)Authorities in Russia’s Lipetsk region reinforce security
Authorities in Russia’s southern Lipetsk region said they have tightened security measures following claims that Wagner mercenaries had crossed the border from Ukraine.
“A decision has been taken to reinforce security measures in the region,” the region’s governor Igor Artamonov said, according to the French news agency AFP.
“I ask everyone to remain calm,” he said.
There has been no independent confirmation that Wagner forces have entered Russian territory.
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2h ago
(02:04 GMT)White House monitoring situation in Russia amid Wagner tensions
US President Joe Biden has been briefed and the White House is monitoring the situation in Russia after the head of the Wagner mercenary force called for an “armed mutiny” against Moscow’s military leadership, a spokesman said Friday.
“We are monitoring the situation and will be consulting with allies and partners on these developments,” National Security Council spokesperson Adam Hodge said.
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2h ago
(01:49 GMT)Governor of Russia’s Rostov region tells citizens to stay home amid Wagner tensions
The governor of Russia’s southern Rostov region adjoining Ukraine has told residents to remain calm and stay indoors, as the leader of the Wagner mercenary force launched what Russian officials called a mutiny.
“Law enforcement agencies are doing everything necessary to ensure the safety of residents of the area. I ask everyone to stay calm and not to leave home unless necessary,” Governor Vasily Golubev said in a message on his Telegram channel just before 4am (01:00 GMT).
Wagner chief Prigozhin claimed his forces had crossed from Ukraine into the Rostov region.
There has been no independent confirmation of those claims and Golubev’s message did not say whether Wagner forces had entered Rostov.
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3h ago
(01:33 GMT)Putin ‘constantly’ updated by security services on Wagner: Kremlin
Russian President Vladimir Putin is being given regular updates on the unfolding tensions between the mercenary group Wagner and the defence ministry, the Kremlin said.
“Security services, law enforcement agencies, namely the defence ministry, the FSB, the interior ministry, the national guard are reporting to the president constantly, around the clock,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in comments carried by Russian news agencies.
An armoured personnel carrier is seen next to a shopping mall in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, on June 24, 2023, amid tension between the Russian military and the Wagner mercenary force [Reuters] -
3h ago
(01:32 GMT)Wagner chief says he will ‘go to the end’ to remove Moscow’s military leaders
Wagner boss Prigozhin has promised to take all necessary steps to topple Russia’s military leadership, saying his forces would “destroy everything” in their way.
“We are going onwards, and we will go to the end,” Prigozhin said in an audio message, adding that his forces had entered the southern Russian region of Rostov.
Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin in Ukraine’s Bakhmut city in May 2023 [File: Telegram/@concordgroup_official/ AFP] -
3h ago
(01:31 GMT)Russia accuses Wagner’s Yevgeny Prigozhin of launching an armed mutiny
Russia has accused Wagner mercenary force boss Yevgeny Prigozhin of launching an armed mutiny after he promised to punish military leaders whom he accused of killing 2,000 of his fighters.
Russia’s FSB security service has opened a criminal case against Prigozhin, the TASS news agency said, and called on fighters from his Wagner private military company to ignore orders and arrest their boss.
- Russia’s FSB security service has opened a criminal case against Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner mercenary force, for calling for an armed mutiny, Russia’s state-owned TASS news agency said.
- Prigozhin said that his call to action against the Russian military was not a mutiny but a “march for justice”.
