By: Jonas E. Alexis, Senior Editor
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.
- 19:40 GMTThe Wagner Group PMC contractors have begun leaving the premises of the headquarters of Russia’s Southern Military District in Rostov-on-Don. Footage from the scene shows the fighters packing their belongings and weaponry, and boarding combat vehicles.
- 17:32 GMTBelarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has held negotiations with the leader of the mutinous Russian PMC Wagner Group, Evgeny Prigozhin, and found an “absolutely beneficial and acceptable” way to end the crisis. The development was announced by Lukashenko’s press service, with the breakthrough reached after tense “day-long” talks.The negotiations were conducted after speaking with and in coordination with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the press service noted. Prigozhin has accepted the offer to “stop advancements” of the PMC’s companies across Russia, it added.
- 16:38 GMTUS President Joe Biden has discussed the ongoing insurrection in Russia with Washington’s closest allies. “President Biden spoke today with President Emmanuel Macron of France, Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany, and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the United Kingdom. The leaders discussed the situation in Russia. They also affirmed their unwavering support for Ukraine,” the White House press service said in a statement.
- 6:24 GMTMultiple shots were fired outside of the headquarters of Russia’s Southern Military District in Rostov-on-Don, RT correspondent Ilya Vasyuninn reports. Footage from the scene shows a Wagner Group PMC contractor firing an assault rifle at the entrance of a local office of Rostelecom, Russia’s biggest digital service provider, in an apparent attempt to break into the building.15:42 GMTAn anti-terrorism operation has been launched in Moscow, the city’s Mayor Sergey Sobyanin has announced, describing the ongoing situation as “difficult.” The upcoming Monday has been declared a non-working day in order to “minimize risks,” the mayor added. Sobyanin also called upon the city’s residents to reduce travel across the city, warning that road traffic in certain areas may be halted completely.
- 15:27 GMTA 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 GMTTehran 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 GMTFighters 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 GMTWagner 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.
