Russia-Ukraine war live: Putin says those behind ‘armed rebellion’ will be punished; Wagner chief says he’s in Rostov military HQ

Here is what Vladimir Putin has said so far:

Putin gave an emergency televised address on Saturday as the Wagner mercenary chief leads an armed rebellion:

Putin said Russia was fighting “the toughest battle for its future”.
He said the Wagner “armed mutiny” was a “stab in the back” to Russia. He called the rebellion treason and said anyone who had taken up arms against the Russian military would be punished.
He said he would do everything to protect Russia, that the Russian armed forces “have been given the necessary orders” and that “decisive action” would be taken to stabilise the situation.
Putin said: “I will do everything possible to defend my country … And those who have organised an armed rebellion will be held accountable. Those who have been drawn into this, I call on you to stop your criminal actions.”
He also told viewers: “Personal interests have led to the betrayal of our country and the cause that our armed forces are fighting.”

Yevgeny Prigozhin said the members of his Wagner group, who have launched an armed rebellion, were “ready to die”, in a message posted to Telegram on Saturday morning.

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In a string of audio messages, the leader of the mercenary fighters vowed to topple Russia’s military leadership.

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“All of us are ready to die. All 25,000, and then another 25,000,” he said. “We are dying for the Russian people.”

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He added: “We are saving Russia.”

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The Russian-installed heads of Ukrainian regions occupied by Moscow on Saturday expressed support for President Vladimir Putin as Russia faced the extraordinary mutiny.

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“The Kherson region and the people of Kherson completely support our president!”, the Russian-installed head of Ukraine’s southern Kherson region said on Telegram. The Kremlin-appointed head of the part of the Zaporizhzhia region controlled by Moscow, Yevgeny Balitsky, said the territory was “with the president”.

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The UK’s Ministry of Defence has provided an update on the situation in Russia.

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The MoD said: “In the early hours of June 24 2023, the feud between Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Wagner group and the Russian MoD escalated into outright military confrontation.

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“In an operation characterised by Prigozhin as a ‘march for freedom’, Wagner group forces crossed from occupied Ukraine into Russia in at least two locations.

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“In Rostov-on-Don, Wagner has almost certainly occupied key security sites, including the HQ which runs Russia’s military operations in Ukraine.

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“Further Wagner units are moving north through Vorenezh oblast, almost certainly aiming to get to Moscow. With very limited evidence of fighting between Wagner and Russian security forces, some have likely remained passive, acquiescing to Wagner.

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“Over the coming hours, the loyalty of Russia’s security forces, and especially the Russian National Guard, will be key to how the crisis plays out. This represents the most significant challenge to the Russian state in recent times.”

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Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 24 June 2023.

Find out more about Defence Intelligence’s use of language: https://t.co/K6An5jd2B8

🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/M3E5L0EHLB

— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) June 24, 2023

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Putin gave an emergency televised address on Saturday as the Wagner mercenary chief leads an armed rebellion:

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Putin said Russia was fighting “the toughest battle for its future”.

He said the Wagner “armed mutiny” was a “stab in the back” to Russia. He called the rebellion treason and said anyone who had taken up arms against the Russian military would be punished.

He said he would do everything to protect Russia, that the Russian armed forces “have been given the necessary orders” and that “decisive action” would be taken to stabilise the situation.

Putin said: “I will do everything possible to defend my country … And those who have organised an armed rebellion will be held accountable. Those who have been drawn into this, I call on you to stop your criminal actions.”

He also told viewers: “Personal interests have led to the betrayal of our country and the cause that our armed forces are fighting.”

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Vladimir Putin has begun a televised address to the Russian nation, saying he is fighting for the life and security of his people and the country needs unity of all its forces.

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If you’re just joining us, here’s a roundup of the latest major developments as Russian authorities accuse mercenary force leader Yevgeny Prigozhin of trying to start a “civil conflict”.

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The head of the Wagner mercenary group claims to have seized control of all military sites in the city of Rostov-on-Don and demanded that Russia’s military leadership come to him after accusing them of killing his forces. In videos posted on social media early on Saturday, Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed he was at the headquarters of the southern military district in Rostov and demanded that defence minister Sergei Shoigu and Russia’s top general Valery Gerasimov come to the city, 1,000km south of Moscow. The videos could not be verified.

Russian president Vladimir Putin will give a televised address soon, the Tass news agency cited the Kremlin as saying. Earlier, a spokesperson for the Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov, had said only that the president was receiving round-the-clock updates and that “all necessary measures are being taken”.

Russia’s defence ministry said in a statement addressed to Wagner fighters that they had been “deceived and dragged into a criminal adventure” by Prigozhin. In a statement posted on Telegram, the ministry urged them to contact its representatives and those of law enforcement services, and promised to guarantee their security.

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Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said anti-terrorist measures were being taken in the Russian capital, including additional checks on roads, to reinforce security. Authorities also said the M4 motorway, connecting Moscow with the south, was closed to traffic at the border with the Voronezh region due to the movement of a military convoy.

Russia’s FSB security service has opened a criminal case for armed mutiny against Prigozhin after the mercenary chief accused the Russian military of targeting his forces and vowed to “destroy” his rivals. In an extraordinary series of audio clips released late on Friday, Prigozhin claimed that a rocket attack in the Russian region of Rostov had killed scores of his fighters, vowing to take “revenge” and “stop the evil brought by the military leadership of the country”.

The FSB said Prigozhin’s statements and actions were “in fact a call to start an armed civil conflict on the territory of the Russian Federation and a stab in the back to Russian servicemen fighting pro-fascist Ukrainian forces”. It urged Wagner fighters “not to make irreparable mistakes, to stop any forceful actions against the Russian people, not to carry out the criminal and treacherous orders of Prigozhin, and to take measures to detain him”.

Early on Saturday, Prigozhin released another voice message in which he claimed, without offering evidence, that his forces had left Ukraine and were entering the southern Russian city of Rostov. “Right now we have crossed all the border points … The border guards greeted us and hugged our fighters. Now we are entering Rostov,” he said. “If anyone gets in our way, we will destroy everything … We extend our hand to everyone. We move forward, we are going all the way!”

Gen Sergei Surovikin, the deputy commander of Russia’s Ukraine campaign, released a video address ordering the mercenaries to remain loyal to Putin. “I urge you to stop,” said Surovikin, who was previously understood to be close to Prigozhin. “The enemy is just waiting for the internal political situation to worsen in our country.”

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Earlier on Friday, Prigozhin had accused Moscow’s leadership of lying to the public about the justifications for invading Ukraine. He dismissed Moscow’s claims that Kyiv was planning to launch an offensive on the Russian-controlled territories in eastern Ukraine in February 2022. Prigozhin said: “The ministry of defence is trying to deceive the public and the president and spin the story that there was insane levels of aggression from the Ukrainian side and that they were going to attack us together with the whole Nato block.”

A senior aide to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy described Prigozhin’s actions as a “counter-terrorist operation” and said that “everything is just beginning in Russia”. “The split between the elites is too obvious. Agreeing and pretending that everything is settled won’t work,” Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted. “Someone must definitely lose: either Prigozhin … or the collective ‘anti-Prygozhin’,”

The commander of Ukraine’s ground forces has confirmed for the first time that the main force of his offensive reserve is yet to be committed into battle with Russia, saying: “Everything is still ahead.” In an exclusive interview with the Guardian from a military base in east Ukraine, Col Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi said the Russian general staff had anticipated where Ukraine’s forces were at their most dangerous but issued a warning to the Kremlin that he was hunting down the lethal weakness in their lines.

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The Russian ministry of defence is telling Wagner fighters they were “deceived and dragged into a criminal adventure”, the state news agency RIA has reported, according to Reuters.

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The ministry called on the Wagner mercenaries to contact its representatives and those of law enforcement services, the Tass news agency reported.

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The ministry said it would guarantee their security.

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Russia’s president Vladimir Putin will give a televised address soon, the Tass news agency has cited the Kremlin as saying.

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Yevgeny Prigozhin says in a new video message that all military sites in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don are under the Wagner mercenary group’s control, Reuters is reporting.

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The Wagner chief also says in the video, which was posted to Telegram, that he and his men are in the southern district military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don.

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Prigozhin says that does not impede Russia’s conduct of what it calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine.

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The Guardian has not been able to verify his claims.

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The Rostov region’s governor has urged residents not to travel into Rostov-on-Don’s city centre and to avoid leaving their homes if possible.

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Vasily Golubev posted on Telegram that law enforcement agencies were doing “everything necessary to ensure the safety of residents in the area”.

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He said he had given “the necessary instructions to the Rostov city administration and the life support services of Rostov to take the necessary measures to preserve the normal functioning of all city systems”.

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n

I keep the issue under control, regularly listening to reports.

n

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Videos posted on local Rostov-on-Don Telegram channels early on Saturday showed armed men in uniform skirting the city’s regional police headquarters, belonging to the interior ministry. Reuters reported it was not immediately clear who the armed men were.

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Moscow’s mayor says anti-terrorist measures are being taken to reinforce security in the Russian capital.

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Sergei Sobyanin said the city was also introducing additional checks on roads, Reuters reports.

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Videos posted on Russian local Rostov-on-Don Telegram channels early on Saturday showed armed men in uniform skirting the city’s regional police headquarters, belonging to the interior ministry.

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Reuters reports it was not immediately clear who the armed men were. The news agency was able to verify the location as the police headquarters building, but not to determine when the video was shot.

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Authorities in southern Russian regions had said measures were being taken to ensure public safety after Yevgeny Prigozhin indicated he planned to despatch men to Moscow to oust the military leadership.

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Yevgeny Prigozhin’s apparent armed rebellion against the leadership of the Russian ministry of defence is “unlikely to succeed” and he may have “wildly miscalculated”, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has said in its latest analysis of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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The Wagner leader may have thought he would have the backing of Russian president Vladimir Putin, the US thinktank wrote, but that was “extraordinarily unlikely” considering Putin had recently aligned himself more firmly with the Russian defence ministry.

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Another possibility was that Prizgozhin’s actions and statements were “a rhetorical overreach in his ongoing dispute with the MoD and his campaign to retain his wavering influence within the Russian information space following the culmination of Wagner’s Bakhmut effort”, it said.

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n

However, this contingency is also highly unlikely, as initial indicators of actual Wagner movements are observable and the Kremlin is not responding to Prigozhin’s statements as only rhetoric.

n

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NEW: #Wagner Group financier Yevgeny #Prigozhin appears to have launched an armed rebellion on June 23 to force a leadership change within the #Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) which is unlikely to succeed.🧵 (1/13)https://t.co/qllyOvtpBR pic.twitter.com/XXCaTeTCD5

— ISW (@TheStudyofWar) June 24, 2023

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Ukrainian authorities reported explosions in the capital, Kyiv, and the eastern city of Kharkiv early on Saturday, with the country going on high alert in the face of new Russian missile strikes.

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“Explosions are heard in Kharkiv,” mayor Igor Terekhov wrote on social media, while authorities in Kyiv said air defence systems were operating.

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Agence France-Presse also reports that Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said there were explosions in the city’s western Solomiansky district.

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“Fragments of a rocket hit a parking lot,” he wrote on social media, adding that emergency services were on the scene.

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Separately, the Ukrainian air force reported missiles heading in the direction of the northern regions of Sumy and Poltava and the central city of Dnipro.

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Here’s an overview of all the latest major developments:

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Russia’s FSB security service has opened a criminal case for armed mutiny against Yevgeny Prigozhin after the head of the Wagner mercenary group accused the Russian military of targeting his forces and vowed to “destroy” his rivals. In an extraordinary series of audio clips released late on Friday, Prigozhin claimed that a rocket attack in the Russian region of Rostov had killed scores of his fighters, vowing to take “revenge” and “stop the evil brought by the military leadership of the country”.

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The FSB said Prigozhin’s statements and actions were “in fact a call to start an armed civil conflict on the territory of the Russian Federation and a stab in the back to Russian servicemen fighting pro-fascist Ukrainian forces”. It urged Wagner fighters “not to make irreparable mistakes, to stop any forceful actions against the Russian people, not to carry out the criminal and treacherous orders of Prigozhin, and to take measures to detain him”.

Early on Saturday, Prigozhin released another voice message in which he claimed, without offering any evidence, that his forces had left Ukraine and were entering the southern Russian city of Rostov. “Right now we have crossed all the border points … The border guards greeted us and hugged our fighters. Now we are entering Rostov,” he said. “If anyone gets in our way, we will destroy everything … We extend our hand to everyone. We move forward, we are going all the way!”

Prigozhin claimed in an audio message that Wagner shot down a Russian helicopter that opened fire on the convoy near Rostov. He did not provide evidence.

Security measures have been strengthened in Moscow, with critical facilities taken under increased protection, Russian state news agency Tass reported, citing law enforcement agencies. Unconfirmed footage also appeared to show military vehicles on the streets of the Russian capital.

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Emergency protocols were also implemented in the city of Rostov, involving the full mobilisation of the local security services, according to several Telegram channels linked to security service. Pictures published by local media showed armour vehicles appearing on the streets. Baza, a Telegram channel linked to Russian security services, reported that helicopters were seen flying over Rostov.

Gen Sergei Surovikin, the deputy commander of Russia’s Ukraine campaign, released a video address ordering the mercenaries to remain loyal to Putin. “I urge you to stop,” said Surovikin, who was previously understood to be close to Prigozhin. “The enemy is just waiting for the internal political situation to worsen in our country.”

Russian president Vladimir Putin was getting round-the-clock updates from all relevant state security agencies on the measures being taken to thwart an attempted armed mutiny, Tass reported. “All necessary measures are being taken,” Russian state media quoted Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov as saying.

Earlier on Friday, Prigozhin had accused Moscow’s leadership of lying to the public about the justifications for invading Ukraine. He dismissed Moscow’s claims that Kyiv was planning to launch an offensive on the Russian-controlled territories in eastern Ukraine in February 2022, saying: “The ministry of defence is trying to deceive the public and the president and spin the story that there was insane levels of aggression from the Ukrainian side and that they were going to attack us together with the whole Nato block.”

The commander of Ukraine’s ground forces has confirmed for the first time that the main force of his offensive reserve is yet to be committed into battle with Russia, saying: “Everything is still ahead.” In an exclusive interview with the Guardian from a military base in east Ukraine, Col Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi said the Russian general staff had anticipated where Ukraine’s forces were at their most dangerous but issued a warning to the Kremlin that he was hunting down the lethal weakness in their lines.

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Prigozhin claimed in an audio message that Wagner shot down a Russian helicopter that opened fire on the convoy near the southern city of Rostov.

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He did not provide evidence to support the claim.

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Earlier, locals in Rostov reported that military helicopters were flying over the city.

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EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1687569207000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”21.13 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1687568999000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”21.09 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”21.09″,”title”:”Prigozhin claims his forces have downed Russian helicopter”,”contributors”:[{[{“name”:”Pjotr Sauer”,”imageUrl”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2022/02/19/Pjotr-Sauer.jpg?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=5e94605ee9e725016f80edcf3bdf7ca8″}],”primaryDateLine”:”Sat 24 Jun 2023 05.20 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Fri 23 Jun 2023 18.12 EDT”},{“id”:”64963f118f08657ec7321f15″,”elements”:[{[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

The governor of Russia’s southern Rostov region, Vasily Golubev, has told its citizens to remain calm and stay indoors, Reuters reports.

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Russian authorities have accused Yevgeny Prigozhin of trying to start a “civil conflict” and called for his detention.

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Agence France-Presse reports that the FSB security service’s probe into calls to stage an “armed mutiny” came after the head of the Wagner mercenary group accused Moscow of targeting his forces with deadly missile strikes and vowed to retaliate.

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Prigozhin urged Russians to join his forces and punish Moscow’s military leadership in the most audacious challenge to President Vladimir Putin since the start of the offensive in Ukraine last year.

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In a statement, the FSB said:

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n

Prigozhin’s statements and actions are in fact a call to start an armed civil conflict on the territory of the Russian Federation and a stab in the back to Russian servicemen fighting pro-fascist Ukrainian forces.

n

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The FSB urged Wagner fighters to “take measures to detain him”.

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The Kremlin said Putin had been informed of Prigozhin’s claims and “necessary measures are being taken”.

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This is Adam Fulton taking over the blog from Abené Clayton.

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Prigozhin released another voice message in which he claimed his forces were entering the southern Russian city of Rostov.

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He said:

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n

Right now we have crossed all the border points … The border guards greeted us and hugged our fighters. Now we are entering Rostov.

n

If anyone gets in our way, we will destroy everything … We extend our hand to everyone, but don’t spit in it. We move forward, we are going to the end!

n

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Prigozhin said that those who opened a criminal case against him had “no feeling” and understood nothing but “treachery”.

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There has been no video footage that would confirm Wagner’s alleged movements.

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EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1687566971000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”20.36 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1687564400000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”19.53 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”19.53″,”title”:”Prigozhin claims forces are entering Rostov”,”contributors”:[{[{“name”:”Pjotr Sauer”,”imageUrl”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2022/02/19/Pjotr-Sauer.jpg?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=5e94605ee9e725016f80edcf3bdf7ca8″}],”primaryDateLine”:”Sat 24 Jun 2023 05.20 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Fri 23 Jun 2023 18.12 EDT”},{“id”:”64962b4d8f08657ec7321eb4″,”elements”:[{[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Following accusations of an armed mutiny in Russia, the White House national security council say they are monitoring the situation, and will be consulting with allies and partners on developments, Reuters reports.

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This is Abené Clayton, contributing to the live blog from Los Angeles.

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Vladimir Putin has yet to make a public statement about the situation with Prigozhin but has “has been informed about all events,” an anchor for State-run Channel 1 said at the end of a news bulletin.

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Michael McFaul, a former ambassador to Russia described Putin’s absence as “striking,” in a tweet.

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The absence of Putin so far in this crisis is striking. Imagine military vehicles cruising around in downtown DC and Biden saying nothing.

— Michael McFaul (@McFaul) June 23, 2023

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Russian security services have moved swiftly against the Wagner boss,
denouncing Prigozhin for “treachery” and ordering the mercenary
group’s fighters to detain their commander.

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The defence ministry also published videos with several senior
military generals who urged Prigozhin to stop what one commander
described as a “coup.”

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“This is a stab in the back of the country and the president,” general
Vladimir Alekseyev, the deputy head of Russia’s military intelligence
agency, said in a video appeal to Wagner fighters “This is a coup,”
Alekseyev added.

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It was not immediately clear if Prigozhin was acting alone. In one
audio message, the warlord claimed to have the support of “the
majority of the army” as well as 25,000 Wagner fighters.

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But Prigozhin for now appears isolated, with several former allies
denouncing his rebellion. General Sergei Surovikin, the deputy
commander of Russia’s Ukraine campaign, who is believed to be close to
Prigozhin, released a video address ordering the mercenaries to remain
loyal to Putin.

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“The termination of Prigozhin and Wagner is imminent. The only
possibility now is absolute obliteration, with the degree of
resistance from the Wagner group being the only variable,” wrote
Tatyana Stanovaya, the founder of the political analysis firm R
Politik

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“Surovikin was dispatched to convince them to surrender. Confrontation
seems totally futile,” she added.

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While there was no immediate sign that Vladimir Putin’s hold on power
appeared threatened, Stanovaya argued that the dramatic episode will
likely damage his standing.

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“Many within the elite will now personally fault Putin for letting the
situation escalate to such extremes and for his lack of a timely
adequate response.”

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The deputy commander of Russia’s Ukraine campaign, general Sergei Surovikin, told Wagner fighters to obey president Vladimir Putin, accept Moscow’s commanders and return to their bases.

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He said political deterioration would play into the hands of Russia’s enemies.

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“I urge you to stop,” Surovikin said in a video posted on Telegram, his right hand resting on a rifle.

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Here is a profile from January of Yevgeny Prigozhin, a former hotdog seller who founded the Wagner group.

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n

Now, Prigozhin’s increasingly brazen criticism has led some to wonder where the ceiling of his ambitions might be.

n

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“People from the FSB are furious about him and see him as a threat to the constitutional order,” said a source in the Russian political elite. “He has this big military group not controlled by the state, and after the war they will want their rewards, including political rewards.”

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Others wonder if Prigozhin may have gone too far. His repeated raging at the defence ministry for trying to “steal” his victory in Soledar has at times sounded more like weakness than strength. After all, insiders say Wagner relies on logistics and intelligence support from the ministry of defence to continue its fighting, and Prigozhin relies on Putin’s continued favour to operate at all.

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The businessman who knew Prigozhin back in the 1990s, looking at his old associate today, was certain of one thing: Prigozhin does not have an off switch.

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“He understands that many hate him in the system … so he knows that if he stops, it could be the end for him. He has no choice. He cannot reverse.”

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Russia said it would prosecute mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin for alleged armed mutiny.

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Russia’s FSB security service has urged Wagner Group fighters not to carry out criminal and traitorous orders at Prigozhin’s request and to take steps to apprehend him.

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Local agencies carried a statement where the security service said the mercenary chief’s remarks amount to a call to start armed civil conflict in Russia, Sky News reported.

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FSB calls on Wagner to ignore Prigozhin’s criminal orders and to assist in his apprehension. Multiple generals making videos calling on them to do the same

Armored vehicles are observed on the streets of Moscow pic.twitter.com/DB7yfcVzy2

— Dmitri Alperovitch (@DAlperovitch) June 23, 2023

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Security was stepped up on Friday night at government buildings, transport facilities and other key locations in Moscow, the state news agency TASS reported, citing a source at a security service.

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Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner mercenary group, has accused Russian military leaders of targeting his troops.

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He said the attack happened after he criticised the country’s top brass on the Telegram messaging app.

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In a video, he had said the Kremlin’s rationale for invading Ukraine was based on lies and the “evil” of Russia’s military leadership must be stopped.

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Prigozhin has since claimed the country’s defence ministry ordered a rocket strike on Wagner’s field camps in Ukraine which has killed scores of his fighters.

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He warned his troops will move to punish defence minister Sergei Shoigu and urged the army not to offer resistance.

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Prigozhin said: “This is not an armed rebellion, but a march of justice.”

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The Russian defence ministry has described the allegations made by Prigozhin as “untrue and an informational provocation”.

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According to the TASS news agency, president Vladimir Putin has been made aware of the latest developments, and “necessary measures are being taken”.

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Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said on Saturday his forces were ready to help put down a mutiny by Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin and to use harsh methods if necessary.

Kadyrov in a statement called Prigozhin’s behaviour “a knife in the back” and called on Russian soldiers not to give in to any “provocations.”

The Estonian prime minister Kaja Kallas has strengthened secuity on the Russian border and urged her people not to travel to any part of Russia.

She posted on Twitter: “Estonia is closely following the development of the situation in Russia and exchanging information with allies.”

Estonia is closely following the development of the situation in Russia and exchanging information with allies.

I can assure that there is no direct threat to our country.

Border security has been strengthened. I also urge our people not to travel to any part of Russia.

— Kaja Kallas (@kajakallas) June 24, 2023″,”url”:”https://twitter.com/kajakallas/status/1672528415134556161?s=20″,”id”:”1672528415134556161″,”hasMedia”:false,”role”:”inline”,”isThirdPartyTracking”:false,”source”:”Twitter”,”elementId”:”1e7d4446-37e1-43aa-89b8-be3ec6349ab7″}}”>

Estonia is closely following the development of the situation in Russia and exchanging information with allies.

I can assure that there is no direct threat to our country.

Border security has been strengthened. I also urge our people not to travel to any part of Russia.

— Kaja Kallas (@kajakallas) June 24, 2023

The governor of Russia’s Voronezh region said on Saturday that the army was taking “necessary military measures” in the region as part of a counter-terrorist operation declared after an armed mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group.

Earlier on Saturday, a Russian security source told Reuters that Wagner fighters had taken control of military facilities in the city of Voronezh, about 500 km (310 miles) south of Moscow. Reuters said it could not independently confirm that assertion.

A Ukrainian newspaper reported that the Russian air force has struck on a highway along which Wagner PMC units were moving.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Saturday that the rebellion by mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin shows Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is backfiring against Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Meloni “is following closely the events unfolding in Russia, which show how its aggression against Ukraine is causing instability within the Russian Federation,” Meloni’s office said in a statement.

⚡️The Russian air force is reported to have struck on the M-4 highway, along which the #Wagner PMC units are moving pic.twitter.com/y9UpjQixQA

— KyivPost (@KyivPost) June 24, 2023″,”url”:”https://twitter.com/KyivPost/status/1672528517911683077?s=20″,”id”:”1672528517911683077″,”hasMedia”:false,”role”:”inline”,”isThirdPartyTracking”:false,”source”:”Twitter”,”elementId”:”76e428cc-5697-4eed-8491-81a091a98959″}}”>

Wagner forces ‘ready to die’ in uprising, Prigozhin says

Yevgeny Prigozhin said the members of his Wagner group, who have launched an armed rebellion, were “ready to die”, in a message posted to Telegram on Saturday morning.

In a string of audio messages, the leader of the mercenary fighters vowed to topple Russia’s military leadership.

“All of us are ready to die. All 25,000, and then another 25,000,” he said. “We are dying for the Russian people.”

He added: “We are saving Russia.”

The Russian-installed heads of Ukrainian regions occupied by Moscow on Saturday expressed support for President Vladimir Putin as Russia faced the extraordinary mutiny.

Footage being shared online appears to show columns of military vehicles moving across the Voronezh region.

The region’s governor, Alexander Gusev, posted on Telegram that the footage was fake.

He said: “There is currently a lot of false information on military vehicle columns moving across the Voronezh region’s territory being posted on social media.

“By Russian law, there’s liability for those who spread messages of this kind. All the instances will be seen to by [Russia’s media watchdog] Roskomnadzor and the regional prosecutor’s office.”

Meanwhile, the Kyiv Post, a Ukrainian newspaper, shared footage which it said showed a banner urging people to join the Wagner PMC being torn down in a Russian city.

Meantime, banners urging people to join the #Wagner PMC are being torn down in Russian cities. pic.twitter.com/yPHcQHzyYH

— KyivPost (@KyivPost) June 24, 2023″,”url”:”https://twitter.com/KyivPost/status/1672521955629576194?s=20″,”id”:”1672521955629576194″,”hasMedia”:false,”role”:”inline”,”isThirdPartyTracking”:false,”source”:”Twitter”,”elementId”:”b0437f02-92dd-4fe1-aeaf-4c8ca63ecead”}}”>

Security forces have reportedly cordoned off the building of the “PMC Wagner Center” on Golden Street in St Petersburg, according to a Russian state-owned domestic news agency.

Security forces are also reportedly raiding the PMC Wagner recruitment centre in the city of Vladimir, the Russian Telegram channel Mash reports. It has not yet been possible to verify the reports.

Germany is closely following events in Russia, where the Wagner mercenary group has claimed control of a key military headquarters in the south, a government spokesperson said on Saturday.

“The government is closely following the events in Russia,” he told AFP.

The Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, on Saturday called on Russians to rally around Vladimir Putin, after what the Russian president called an “armed mutiny” by the Wagner mercenary group.

Putin has spoken to the Belarus president, Alexander Lukashenko, and informed him about “events in Russia”, according to the Belarusian presidency’s Telegram channel.

The Russian news website Sputnik has reported that a spokesperson for the European Commission said on Saturday that the European Union considers what is happening in Russia to be an internal matter.

The spokesperson told reporters in Brussels that the EU is monitoring the situation.

Jonathan Yerushalmy

After a night of confusion and chaos, the Wagner group commander, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has said he is inside Russian army headquarters in Rostov-on-Don. More extraordinarily, the chief of the mercenary group claimed his fighters were in control of the city’s military sites.

Those claims cannot be independently verified and Prigozhin has a history of making outlandish and inaccurate statements. However, it is clear that the situation in the southern Russian city is precarious – and that turmoil in the region that is so strategically important to Moscow could have far-reaching ramifications for the conflict in Ukraine.

Why is Rostov significant and what does this mean for the conflict in Ukraine? Read Jonathan’s piece to learn more:

The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has admitted that the work of his country’s authority is “being blocked” by the armed rebellion against his regime.

Speaking in an emergency televised address on Saturday, Putin acknowledged a “difficult” situation was unfolding in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don, where the Wagner mercenary group has taken control of key military sites in an effort to oust Russian military’s top brass.

“There will be decisive measures taken on stabilising the situation in Rostov-on-Don,” Putin said in an address to Russians. “It remains difficult and the work of civil and military authorities in fact is being blocked.”

The Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said people may be trapped under rubble in the city on Saturday following overnight airstrikes.

The interior minister Ihor Klymenko said missiles had targeted at least five regions across the country. Three people were killed and eight wounded after a high-rise in the capital was struck, he said.

“This is the style of terrorists. The style of Russia,” he wrote on the Telegram messaging app. Klitschko was also speaking on the app.

Ukraine’s military said air defences had destroyed 41 out of 51 cruise missiles, as well as two drones, launched by Russia in the assault.

In a separate post, Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, said the damage to the high-rise had been caused by fragments from a downed missile. He added that more than 20 missiles had been shot down around the city.

Three people died due to debris hitting a building in the Solomyansk district after Russia unleashed its latest overnight air strike on Ukraine. Photograph: Alessio Mamo/The Guardian

President Putin said the armed rebellion was an “attempt to subvert us from inside”, in an emergency message to his nation.

Putin said he spoke to the commander of the southern troops last night, in his televised address.

“Russia will defend itself and repel this inimical move”, he said, according to a Sky News translation.

“We are fighting for the life and the security of our citizens and our territorial integrity.

“It is a question of Russia’s millenial history. This requires the unity of everyone and the consolidation of all elements.

“Everything has to be done in order to put this danger to rest. It is an attempt to subvert us from inside. This is treason”

BREAKING: In a recorded address, Vladimir Putin says the Wagner group rebellion is a ‘criminal adventuristic campaign’ and “equivalent to armed mutiny”.

He says: “It is an attempt to subvert us from inside. This is treason.”

Latest: https://t.co/X3flQUBL0r

📺 Sky 501 pic.twitter.com/iaIgz7YASc

— Sky News (@SkyNews) June 24, 2023n”,”url”:”https://twitter.com/SkyNews/status/1672501872538558464?s=20″,”id”:”1672501872538558464″,”hasMedia”:false,”role”:”inline”,”isThirdPartyTracking”:false,”source”:”Twitter”,”elementId”:”340d8dac-882c-43d1-a7ae-c16a229a621e”}}”>

BREAKING: In a recorded address, Vladimir Putin says the Wagner group rebellion is a ‘criminal adventuristic campaign’ and “equivalent to armed mutiny”.

He says: “It is an attempt to subvert us from inside. This is treason.”

Latest: https://t.co/X3flQUBL0r

📺 Sky 501 pic.twitter.com/iaIgz7YASc

— Sky News (@SkyNews) June 24, 2023

French President Emmanuel Macron is following the situation in Russia closely, the presidential palace said on Saturday.

“We stay focused on the support to Ukraine,” the Elysee said.

Poland’s president held consultations with the prime minister and defence ministry about the situation in Russia, he said on Saturday, adding that Warsaw was monitoring the situation.

“In connection with the situation in Russia, this morning we held consultations with the prime minister and the ministry of defence, as well as with allies,” Andrzej Duda wrote on Twitter.

“The course of events beyond our eastern border is monitored on an ongoing basis,” he said.