23 Jun, 2023 23:55
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Wagner PMC ‘armed coup’ attempt in Russia: All the latest news
The businessman behind the private military company has been accused of “rebellion” against Moscow
Evgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner Group private military company, has been accused by the government of staging an armed insurrection.
The charges were brought late Friday night after Prigozhin accused Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu and General Valery Gerasimov, the chair of the Russian general staff, of serious crimes.
Prigozhin claimed to have ordered troops loyal to him to move towards Rostov-on-Don, a major city in southern Russia. Security measures were also reportedly beefed up in Moscow.
24 June 2023
15:27 GMT
A major bridge over the Oka River has been barricaded with heavy vehicles in the Russian city of Kolomna 114km southeast of Moscow. A large military column was spotted in the city heading to the southeast towards the city of Ryazan, unverified footage circulating online shows.
14:24 GMT
Tehran has called the ongoing insurrection an internal matter for Russia. “Iran supports the rule of law in the Russian Federation,” the spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Nasser Kanaani, said in a statement.
14:01 GMT
Fighters of Akhmat, an elite National Guard unit from Russia’s Chechnya, have reached Rostov-on-Don, unverified footage circulating online shows. Multiple armored vehicles and trucks carrying personnel can be seen driving on the outskirts of the city, which has become the hotbed of the insurrection by the Wagner PMC.
13:54 GMT
Wagner Group forces are moving through Lipetsk Region, located some 370km to the south of Moscow, local governor Igor Artamonov has said, urging civilians to stay at their homes and avoid unnecessary travel. “The situation remains under control,” the governor said, adding that the region’s critical infrastructure continues to operate without incident.
13:05 GMT
Russia’s closest ally, Belarus, condemned the mutiny, with the country’s security council stating that Minsk remains committed to standing with Russia and fully supports the ongoing military operation in Ukraine. The council also branded the attempted coup a“gift to the collective West.”
12:45 GMT
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin press service said.
“The Russian President briefed [Erdogan] on the situation in the country amid the attempted armed insurrection. Türkiye’s President expressed his full support towards the steps taken by the Russian leadership,” the press service said in a statement.
12:32 GMT
Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) chief Sergey Naryshkin denounced the ongoing coup as “treason,” branding it “the most terrible crime, which cannot be justified by any past merits.” Meanwhile, he said that the attempt to spark a “civil war” in the country has already failed, with Russian society demonstrating “civic maturity.”
11:43 GMT
A loud explosion has been heard in the vicinity of the headquarters of the Russian southern military district in Rostov-on-Don, RT correspondent Roman Kosarev, covering the coup attempt, reported on Saturday.
11:11 GMT
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said, “the most important thing for defeating the external and internal enemy who is hungry to tear our Motherland into shreds… is to unite around the president and supreme commander of the armed forces.”
“Split and betrayal lead to the greatest tragedy, to a universal disaster,” he warned in a post on Telegram, vowing that the Russian authorities will not let this happen.
10:40 GMT
The head of Russia’s Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, called the insurrection by Wagner's chief a “hideous betrayal” adding that it should be quelled in order to protect the nation’s unity amid the conflict in Ukraine.
Chechen members of the Defense Ministry and the National Guard have already headed out to the regions where tensions are high. “The insurrection must be quelled, and if harsh measures are required, we are ready for them!” he stated in a post on Telegram.
https://www.rt.com/russia/578553-prigozhin-armed-insurrection-updates/