Live Blog | Putin: Prigozhin’s rebellion is treason; Wagner troops ‘ready to die’ Related Articles

This is the most important news

• Russian forces launch a rocket attack on the Wagner group
• FSB Justice and Security Service then Prigozhin for mutiny
• Army, security services and tanks secure government buildings in Moscow, Rostov and St. Petersburg
• Wagner troops in Rostov-on-Don

The enmity between the Russian Defense Ministry and the Wagner Group has escalated and appears to be plunging Russia into civil war. Wagner’s head Prigozhin and his troops are in direct opposition to the Kremlin and the FSB security service. Russian troops, tanks and armored vehicles have entered Moscow, securing government buildings and strategic locations. The Wagnerians captured the military headquarters in the city of Rostov-on-Don. The commander-in-chief, General Gerasimov, is said to have fled the headquarters.

The situation in Russia is not clear and events are moving very fast. The reporting is based on what local sources report and post on social media and what Russian state media write. As a result, it is not always possible to properly verify messages.

Wagner group chief mercenary Yevgeny Prigozhin said he and his troops were “ready to die”. He says it in a Telegram message. “All 25,000 soldiers we have are ready to die for the Russian people.”

An anti-terrorism regime has been introduced in Moscow and the Moscow and Voronezh regions, the National Counter-Terrorism Committee reported today. This was written by the TASS news agency. “An anti-terrorist regime has been introduced in the territory of the city of Moscow and in the Moscow and Voronezh regions to counter potential terrorist attacks,” the committee said in a statement.

The counter-terrorism regime was introduced for the first time in these regions. An anti-terrorist operation is a legal regulation that provides for a series of temporary measures and restrictions, such as carrying out identity checks, strengthening the protection of public order, monitoring telephone conversations, using means of transport belonging to organizations regardless of their ownership status, suspending dangerous manufacturing facilities, limiting communications, temporarily resettling people, and limiting the movement of vehicles and pedestrians on the road. The sale of weapons and alcohol can be prohibited.

The Dutch defense ministry is following the situation in Russia “closely”, a spokesman said when asked. However, according to the Ministry of Defense, it is still too early to draw any conclusions. The Wagner mercenary army has turned against the top echelons of the Russian military and is said to have taken control of the southern Russian city of Rostov.

The disagreement between the Wagner mercenaries and the Russian military leadership is obviously bad news for Putin. However, the war is not going as the Russian president would like, the spokesman said.

Russia will crack down on “traitors” who “took up arms against their comrades,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised address. “Any internal mutiny is a serious threat to our state,” he said. ‘Betrayal, extortion and terrorism’ is ‘a blow to Russia, a blow to our people’.

“We are fighting for our independence, the right to stay in Russia,” Putin said. According to the president, anyone who undermines the struggle must be “evicted”. “This is a betrayal of those who are pushing the country into the arms of anarchy, fratricide, to the end of defeat and capitulation.”

French President Emmanuel Macron is closely monitoring the situation in Russia, his country’s officials said. Poland’s president has consulted with the prime minister and the defense ministry on the situation in Russia, he said today, adding that Warsaw is monitoring the situation.

“Regarding the situation in Russia, we held talks this morning with the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Defense as well as with allies,” Andrzej Duda wrote on Twitter.

President Putin just delivered a speech calling the Wagnerian uprising an attempt to “undermine us from within.” “This is treason, this is a knife in the rear of our troops and the Russian people.”

Putin has promised to defend the motherland and said special measures are in place in the Moscow and St. Petersburg regions. He defines the situation around Rostov-on-Don as “complicated”.