Earlier on Friday, drone footage showed a Russian troop wiped out by a bomb
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Yevgeny Prigozhin, the powerful and outspoken leader of Wagner’s mercenary group, claims to have entered Russian territory as part of the military leader’s campaign against the Russian state.
Videos circulating on Russian Telegram channels early Saturday showed tanks and armed men in the city of Rostov-on-Don amid fears of a coup.
The videos showed uniformed men surrounding the headquarters of the city’s regional police, belonging to the Ministry of the Interior.
It’s not immediately clear who the men are, and while the location was confirmed as the police headquarters building, the exact time the video was taken has yet to be verified.
Convoys of Russian military vehicles were seen securing key locations in Moscow and the Rostov region, where Russia’s Ukrainian command is based.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said anti-terror measures were being taken in the capital, including additional checks on roads. Prigozhin indicated that he planned to send men to Moscow to overthrow the military leadership.
The tense situation follows an extraordinary rant by Mr. Prigozhin, who accused the Russian military of launching a deadly attack on his troops and added that the Defense Ministry had misled Vladimir Putin into war with Ukraine.
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The Russian M-4 highway was closed to traffic 400 km south of Moscow – regional governor
The governor of Lipetsk region in central Russia said Saturday that the M-4 highway connecting Moscow with southern regions was closed to traffic at the border with Voronezh region, about 400 km south of Moscow .
Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin appeared to have sent an armed convoy of his Wagner fighters on a 1,200-kilometre drive to Moscow, after saying he intended to oust the military leadership.
Namita SinghJune 24, 2023 05:03
Moscow introduces ‘anti-terror’ measures to increase security – mayor
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Saturday that anti-terror measures are being taken in the Russian capital, including additional checks on roads, to strengthen security.
Namita SinghJune 24, 2023 05:02
The Russian mercenary boss says that his rebel forces entered the city of Russia
The owner of Wagner’s private military contractor made his most direct challenge to the Kremlin on Friday, calling for an armed rebellion aimed at ousting Russia’s defense minister. The security services immediately reacted by demanding the arrest of Yevgeny Prigozhin.
In a sign of how seriously the Kremlin was taking the threat, security was stepped up in Moscow and Rostov-on-Don, which hosts the Russian military headquarters in the southern region and also oversees fighting in Ukraine.
While the outcome of the confrontation was still unclear, it appeared likely to further hamper Moscow’s war effort, as Kiev forces were probing Russian defenses in the early stages of a counter-offensive.
Prigozhin claimed early Saturday that his forces had crossed into Russia from Ukraine and reached Rostov, saying they were not facing resistance from young conscripts at checkpoints and that his forces “are not fighting children”.
“But we will destroy anyone who stands in our way,” he said in one of a series of angry video and audio recordings posted on social media starting Friday night. “We are moving forward and we will go all the way.”
Namita Singh24 June 2023 04:48
Seven injured in Kiev as attack causes fire, Kharkiv also hit
Fragments of downed Russian missiles sparked a fire that injured seven people in Kiev, while other Ukrainian cities including Kharkiv were also hit, officials said early Saturday, as air raid alerts sounded across the country.
Serhiy Popko, head of the capital’s military administration, said falling fragments caused a fire on the 16th, 17th and 18th floors of a 24-story tower. He said seven people were injured and about 40 cars were damaged in an adjacent parking lot.
Popko said anti-aircraft units had identified and shot down more than 20 missiles.
A Ukrainian gunner checks his mobile phone next to shells and cases of propellant charges as he rests at a position near Avdiivka in the Donetsk region on June 23, 2023, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
(AFP via Getty Images)
Images posted on social media showed the upper floors of the island in flames.
At least three Russian missiles targeted Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, and one hit a gas line and started a fire, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said. He said emergency services were at the scene but did not give details about the victims.
The mayor of Dnipro in central Ukraine said eight private homes had been destroyed in an attack in the city.
There were reports of explosions in other cities, but there were no signs of casualties or damage. Military reports said anti-aircraft units were in action across the country.
Air warnings were lifted for most of the country after an hour.
Namita Singh24 June 2023 04:41
Rostov’s governor calls on “everyone to keep calm” as tensions rise with Wagner
The governor of the Rostov region, where Wagner Group mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin claims he is moving his private army against the Russian state, is calling on civilians to remain calm in the face of possible clashes.
“The law enforcement authorities are doing everything necessary to ensure the safety of the residents of the region,” Vasily Golubev said in a Telegram post. seen by The New York Times. “I’m asking everyone to stay calm and not leave the house unnecessarily.”
Josh MarcusJune 24, 2023 04:30
Gunmen surround police building in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, on social media
Armed men in uniform and tanks were seen surrounding the headquarters of the regional police in the interior ministry city of Rostov-on-Don, according to videos posted on Russian Telegram channels in the early hours of today.
It was not immediately known who the gunmen were. Reuters was able to verify the location as the police headquarters building, but was unable to determine when the video was shot.
Authorities in Russia’s southern regions said measures were being taken to ensure public safety, after the founder of the Russian mercenary force Wagner indicated he planned to send men to Moscow to topple the military leadership.
Namita SinghJune 24, 2023 04:15
Falling drone fragments set fire to Kiev tower block
Fragments of a downed Russian drone struck a high-rise apartment building and a parking lot in central Kiev, injuring two people, and the missiles targeted the country’s second city, Kharkiv, officials said.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said two people were injured in the Solomyanskyi district in central Kyiv, and images posted on social media showed the upper floors of a tower on fire. Fragments also hit a parking lot.
Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said at least three Russian missiles targeted his city, one of which hit a gas line and started a fire. Terekhov said emergency services were at the scene, but did not give details about the victims.
There were reports of explosions in other cities, including Dnipro in central Ukraine. Military reports said anti-aircraft units were in action across the country.
Air raid alerts were in place across the country for more than an hour before authorities lifted them in most regions.
Namita SinghJune 24, 2023 4:01 am
“Russian brutality has boosted NATO and led countries to abandon neutrality, and that’s a very bad move.”
“If, as it seems, most of Europe and Russia are accelerating towards a two-bloc split, there are far more risks to lose than to win,” writes Mary Dejevsky.
“Ukraine’s Western allies have talked a lot about the perverse effects of Russia’s invasion, chief among them the boost given to NATO.
“While an important goal for Russia was to stem some of the fallout from NATO enlargement and prevent Ukraine from joining the Western alliance, the actual effect has been the opposite.” Read the entire column here.
Guillem MataJune 24, 2023 04:00
Prigozhin, mercenary boss urging uprising against Russia’s generals, has long ties to Putin
Once a low-profile businessman who benefited from having President Vladimir Putin as a powerful patron, Yevgeny Prigozhin came into the global spotlight with Russia’s war in Ukraine.
As the leader of a mercenary force that bills itself as fighting in many of the Russian military’s toughest battles in Ukraine, the 62-year-old has moved into his most dangerous role yet: preaching a rebel· open lion against the military leadership of his country.
Prigozhin, owner of the Kremlin-allied Wagner Group, stepped up what have been months of scathing criticism of Russia’s conduct of the war by calling for an armed uprising to oust the defense minister on Friday. Russian security services reacted immediately, opened a criminal investigation and called for Prigozhin’s arrest.
This general view taken on November 4, 2022 shows a poster showing a Russian soldier with a slogan reading “Glory to the heroes of Russia” decorating a street near the “PMC Wagner Center”, associated with the founder of the private military group Wagner ( PMC) Yevgeny Prigozhin, during the official opening of the office block on the Day of National Unity, in St. Petersburg
(AFP via Getty Images)
In a sign of how seriously the Kremlin took Prigozhin’s threat, riot police and the National Guard scrambled to beef up security at key Moscow facilities, including government agencies and transport infrastructure , Tass reported.
Prigozhin, a criminal, hot dog seller and long-time associate of Mr Putin, urged Russians to join his “march to justice”.
Namita Singh24 June 2023 03:52
Military convoy on the highway connecting Moscow and southern Russia – regional administration
The government of southern Russia’s Voronezh region urged residents to avoid the M-4 north-south highway connecting Moscow with southern regions because of a moving military convoy, after the leader of Wagner’s private militia suggested that he planned to expel Russia. military leadership
The government said on its Telegram channel that the situation was under control and measures were being taken to ensure public safety.
Namita SinghJune 24, 2023 03:45
