2023-06-24 13:02:18
Russian military vehicle in Rostov-on-Don. (picture alliance / AP)
+++ In the greater Moscow area, the Russian army is sealing off several freeways and arterial roads.
The measures are focused on the M4 highway, which runs from Rostov-on-Don to the Russian capital. About halfway down the route, in Voronezh, are units of mercenary leader Prigozhin.
+++ The governor of the southern Russian region of Lipetsk has called on the population not to leave their homes.
Units of Prigozhin are located in this region. Coming from the Ukraine, he first reached Rostov-on-Don with his fighters. The command center of the Russian army for the war of aggression against Ukraine is located there. Meanwhile, Russian air raids on a mercenary convoy near Voronezh are reported. This city is located between Rostov and Moscow, about 500 kilometers from the Russian capital. The British BBC verified a video showing a private army truck convoy on the highway towards Moscow.
+++ Western countries such as the USA, Germany and France as well as NATO have expressed concern about developments in Russia.
At the same time, it was agreed that the situation was being closely monitored. In the afternoon, the Federal Government’s crisis team met at the Federal Foreign Office, which had tightened the safety instructions for German citizens in Russia today. In addition, Foreign Minister Baerbock coordinated with her counterparts from the G7 countries. Chancellor Scholz explained that he would be kept informed about what was happening. Defense Minister Pistorius pointed out that it was still too early for an assessment.
+++ The Kremlin has rejected speculation that President Putin is said to have left Moscow.
“Putin works in the Kremlin,” said his spokesman Peskov, according to the state news agency Tass. Earlier there were rumors that Putin might have left for St. Petersburg. According to official information, Prime Minister Mishustin was also at his workplace in Moscow.
+++ According to information from Moscow, the Russian President Putin telephoned the Turkish head of state Erdogan.
Erdogan supports the Russian government’s handling of the rebellion by Wagner boss Prigozhin, the Russian presidential office said. There was initially no comment from the Turkish side.
+++ Combat operations between Russian mercenaries from the Wagner group and the Russian army are reported from Russia.
A reporter from the Archyde.com news agency reports that Russian military helicopters have attacked a convoy of mercenaries in Voronezh, 500 kilometers south of Moscow. Battles had previously been reported from there via other agencies.
+++ The President of the Russian republic of Chechnya, Kadyrov, has announced the deployment of his own troops.
He wants to support the Kremlin. “Fighters from the Ministry of Defense and the National Guard of the Chechen Republic have already left for the tense areas. We will do everything to preserve the unity of Russia and protect its statehood,” Kadyrov said on Telegram.
+++ Russian President Putin spoke to several heads of state from neighboring countries about the Wagner Group uprising.
The Belarusian presidential office said on Telegram that Putin had informed President Lukashenko about the situation. According to the Russian news agency Tass, Putin also spoke to Uzbek President Mirsiyoyev. According to his office, after a phone call between Putin and Kazakh President Tokayev, he said it was an internal matter for Russia. Public order must be maintained.
+++ In view of the Wagner uprising, the Ukrainian presidential advisor Podoljak keeps the fate of Russia’s President Putin open.
The next 48 hours would decide the new status of Russia, Podoljak wrote on Twitter. A full-fledged civil war, a negotiated transfer of power or even a temporary respite before the next phase of the fall of the Putin regime are possible.
+++ Russia’s President Putin has the backing of important politicians.
The chairmen of the two Russian chambers of parliament and the heads of administration appointed by Russia in the Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine expressed their solidarity with Putin in the face of the uprising by the Wagner mercenary group. Russian Upper House Speaker Matvienko assured Putin had the full support of the parliamentary chamber. Lower House Chairman Volodin called on the Russians to support the Kremlin boss. The heads of administration of the regions in Ukraine occupied by Russia made similar statements.
+++ The Green MEP Lagodinsky is currently not assuming an end to President Putin’s rule.
The Putin regime is in danger in the medium to long term, said the Green politician on Deutschlandfunk. However, he does not believe that the revolution will come now. The Western position must remain clear: the priority is victory for the Ukrainian side.
+++ The CDU foreign policy expert Hardt expects the uprising of the Wagner mercenaries in Russia to give Ukraine a military advantage. The mercenary troops are no longer deployed against the Ukrainian armed forces, but have been neutralized from the Ukrainian point of view, Hardt also said on Deutschlandfunk. At the same time, Hardt emphasized that the events were difficult to predict. He thinks everything is possible in Russia in the coming weeks and months – “unfortunately, bloody internal struggles too.”
+++ DLF editor Sabine Adler thinks it is possible that an inner-Russian war could start with the recent events. “What we see, that the military has landed in a place near Moscow, that roadblocks have been set up – that certainly doesn’t look like peaceful development.”
+++ The Ukrainian President Selenskyj assessed the development in Russia as a sign of the country’s weakness.
He wrote on Twitter that the longer Moscow keeps its troops and mercenaries in Ukraine, the more chaos and problems there will be later. The longer Russia leaves its troops and mercenaries in Ukraine, the more chaos and problems there will be later in Russia.
+++ Mercenary chief Prigozhin has stated that he and his men would not give up as ordered by Russian President Putin.
He denied Putin’s accusation of treason. Putin is very wrong about that. The fighters of the Wagner mercenary group are Russian patriots. Russia should no longer have to live with corruption, lies and bureaucracy.
+++ In the Russian region of Voronezh, around 600 kilometers south of Moscow, the Russian army carried out combat missions because of the uprising of the Wagner mercenary troupe.
As part of “anti-terrorist measures”, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation carried out the necessary operational and combat operations, Gusev said. Previously there had been reports that the insurgent Wagner fighters in Voronezh had occupied individual military facilities. The region is about halfway between Moscow and the southern city of Rostov.
+++ Three people died in new Russian air raids in Kiev.
According to rescue workers, eleven other people were injured. The authorities had previously said that 40 Russian cruise missiles and two drones had been shot down. A residential building caught fire and parts of the rocket fell onto a parking lot. During the night there was another air alert across the country. Explosions were also reported from several other cities, including Kharkiv, Dnipro and Kremenchuk.
+++ In view of the power struggle with the Wagner mercenaries in Russia, the Federal Foreign Office has updated its travel advice for the country.
Due to current events, administrative areas affected by a partial travel warning and in particular the city of Rostov and the surrounding area should already be avoided, the ministry said. In Moscow, state, especially military, facilities should be largely bypassed. The city center should be avoided until further notice.
+++ The federal government reacted with concern to the reports from Russia about the uprising of the Wagner mercenary group.
A spokesman said they were following events closely. French President Macron and Polish President Duda made similar statements. According to British intelligence services, the uprising is the “greatest challenge” for the Russian state in recent times.
+++ The Ministry of Defense in London writes in a situation report that the loyalty of the Russian security forces and in particular the national guard will be decisive for the course of the crisis in the coming hours.
So far there is only very limited evidence of fighting with Wagner mercenaries.
Deutschlandfunk reports in detail on the current events in the “Information at noon” from 12:10 p.m. and in the “Information in the evening” from 6:10 p.m.
+++ Russian President Putin has described the uprising of the mercenary leader Prigozhin as a betrayal.
In a speech broadcast on state television, he spoke of a “stab in the back.” He announced that anyone who took part in the mutiny would be punished. Putin stressed that he would do everything to protect Russia and the Russian people. The army had received the necessary instructions.
+++ A leading adviser to the Ukrainian President Selenskyj calls the advance of the mercenary leader Prigozhin an “anti-terrorist operation”.
In any case, someone has to lose, either Prigozhin or his opponents, Mykhailo Podoliak tweeted: “Everything is just beginning in Russia.”
+++ The Russian Ministry of Defense has asked the fighters of the Wagner mercenary group to refuse allegiance to their boss, Prigozhin.
He “deceived her and led her into a criminal adventure”. The mercenaries should contact the authorities, their safety will be guaranteed.
+++ In view of the armed uprising of the Russian mercenary chief Prigozhin, the authorities in Moscow and the surrounding area have declared an anti-terror emergency.
“In order to prevent possible terrorist attacks in the city and region of Moscow, a regime of counter-terrorist operations has been established,” the national anti-terrorist committee said.
+++ After the uprising of the Russian mercenary chief Prigozhin, the Kremlin in Moscow announced a speech by President Putin.
Kremlin spokesman Peskov said Putin would address the public shortly. The Ministry of Defense called on the fighters of the Wagner troop to turn away from Prigozhin. Moscow guarantees their safety.
+++ The power struggle between the Russian mercenary leader Prigozhin and the military leadership in Moscow is coming to a head.
During the night, fighters from Prigozhin’s Wagner mercenary force invaded the Rostov region from Ukraine. Prigozhin told Telegram this morning that he was at military headquarters. All of the city’s military installations are under his control. The Wagner boss also emphasized that he would march to Moscow if Defense Minister Shoigu and Chief of Staff Gerasimov did not come to him. This does not hinder Russia’s “special operation” in Ukraine.
The Russian domestic secret service FSB is investigating the Wagner boss for armed insurrection and called on his soldiers to arrest him. According to the state media, security measures have been tightened in Moscow. Heavy military trucks and armored vehicles were spotted in several parts of central Moscow early this morning. According to Kremlin spokesman Peskov, President Putin is kept up to date on the situation.
This message was broadcast on Deutschlandfunk on June 24, 2023.
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