Wagner mercenaries stand atop a tank lodged between buildings near the headquarters of the Southern Military District in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, on June 24, 2023.STRINGER/Reuters
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Mutinous Russian mercenary fighters barrelled towards Moscow on Saturday after seizing a southern city overnight, with Russia’s military firing on them from the air but seemingly incapable of slowing their lightning advance.
Facing the first serious challenge to his grip on power of his 23-year rule, President Vladimir Putin vowed to crush an armed mutiny he compared to Russia’s Civil War a century ago.
Fighters from Yevgeny Prigozhin’s private Wagner militia were in control of Rostov-on-Don, a city of more than a million people close to the border with Ukraine, and were rapidly advancing northwards through western Russia.
Reuters saw troop carriers and a flatbed truck carrying a tank careening past the city of Voronezh more than half way along the 1,100-km highway to Moscow, where a helicopter fired on them. But there were no reports of the rebels meeting any substantial resistance on the highway.
Moscow
BELARUS
RUSSIA
Voronezh
M4 highway
Kyiv
Kharkiv
UKRAINE
Dnipro
100 km
Rostov-on-Don
Sea of Azov
JOHN SOPINSKI/the globe and mail, Source: OPENSTREETMAP
Moscow
BELARUS
RUSSIA
Voronezh
M4 highway
Kyiv
Kharkiv
UKRAINE
Dnipro
100 km
Rostov-on-Don
Sea of Azov
JOHN SOPINSKI/the globe and mail, Source: OPENSTREETMAP
Moscow
BELARUS
RUSSIA
Voronezh
M4 highway
Kyiv
Kharkiv
UKRAINE
Dnipro
100 km
Rostov-on-Don
Sea of Azov
JOHN SOPINSKI/the globe and mail, Source: OPENSTREETMAP
Prigozhin, whose private army fought the bloodiest battles in Ukraine even as he feuded for months with the top brass, said he had captured the headquarters of Russia’s Southern Military District in Rostov after leading his forces into Russia from Ukraine.
In Rostov, which serves as the main rear logistical hub for Russia’s entire invasion force, residents milled about, filming on mobile phones, as Wagner fighters in armoured vehicles and battle tanks took up positions.
Eyewitness videos show Wagner forces at the headquarters of the Southern Military District in Rostov-on-Don on June 24. Russian President Vladimir Putin has called the mercenary group's actions an "armed mutiny."
The Globe and Mail
One tank was wedged between stucco buildings with posters advertising the circus. Another had “Siberia” daubed in red paint across the front, a clear statement of intent to sweep across the breadth of Russia.
Russian media showed pictures of small groups of police manning machine gun positions on Moscow’s southern outskirts. Authorities in the Lipetsk region south of the capital told residents to stay home.
The governor of the region surrounding Russia’s capital has suspended mass public events outdoors and at educational institutions until July 1.
Gov. Andrei Vorobyov issued a decree with the bans on Saturday. The governor’s decree doesn’t apply to the city itself but the surrounding areas. However, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin warned that traffic could be restricted in parts of the capital as part of the counter-terrorism operation prompted by the rebellion.
In Moscow, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin called on people to refrain as far as possible from trips around the city, given a counterterrorism operation had been declared, and said the situation was “difficult.” He warned traffic could be restricted in parts of the capital.
The counter-terrorism operation allows authorities to tighten security, impose curbs on traffic and communications, and to conduct searches without warrants. There was no immediate word of whether a curfew would be posed.
Sobyanin also said in a statement that Monday would be a non-working day – with some exceptions – in order “to minimize risks.” There was an increased security presence on the streets and Red Square was blocked off by metal barriers.
“Excessive ambitions and vested interests have led to treason,” Putin said in a televised address, comparing the insurrection at a time of war abroad to Russia’s revolution and civil war unleashed during First World War.
“All those who deliberately stepped on the path of betrayal, who prepared an armed insurrection, who took the path of blackmail and terrorist methods, will suffer inevitable punishment, will answer both to the law and to our people.”
A defiant Prigozhin swiftly replied that he and his men had no intention of turning themselves in.
“The president makes a deep mistake when he talks about treason. We are patriots of our motherland, we fought and are fighting for it,” Prigozhin said in an audio message. “We don’t want the country to continue to live in corruption and deceit.”
Russia accuses Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin of threatening coup as FSB opens criminal probe
In a series of hectic messages overnight, Prigozhin demanded Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and the chief of the general staff Valery Gerasimov come to see him in Rostov.
Prigozhin, a former convict and long-time ally of Putin, leads a private army that includes thousands of former prisoners recruited from Russian jails.
His men took on the fiercest fighting of the 16-month Ukraine war, including the protracted battle for the eastern city of Bakhmut.
He railed for months against the regular army’s top brass, accusing generals of incompetence and of withholding ammunition from his fighters. This month, he defied orders to sign a contract placing his troops under Defence Ministry command.
He launched the apparent mutiny on Friday after alleging that the military had killed many of his fighters in an air strike. The Defence Ministry denied it.
“There are 25,000 of us and we are going to figure out why chaos is happening in the country,” he said, promising to destroy any checkpoints or air forces that got in Wagner’s way. He later said his men had been involved in clashes with regular soldiers and had shot down a helicopter.
Army Lieutenant-General Vladimir Alekseyev issued a video appeal asking Prigozhin to reconsider his actions.
“Only the president has the right to appoint the top leadership of the armed forces, and you are trying to encroach on his authority,” he said.
Western capitals said they were closely following the situation in nuclear-armed Russia.
“This represents the most significant challenge to the Russian state in recent times,” Britain’s defence ministry said.
“Over the coming hours, the loyalty of Russia’s security forces, and especially the Russian National Guard, will be key to how this crisis plays out.”
Putin’s grip on power may depend on whether he can muster enough loyal troops to combat the mercenaries at a time when most of Russia’s military is deployed at the front in southern and eastern Ukraine.
The insurrection also risks leaving Russia’s invasion force in Ukraine in disarray, just as Kyiv is launching its strongest counteroffensive since the war began in February last year.
“Russia’s weakness is obvious. Full-scale weakness,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote in a social media message. “And the longer Russia keeps its troops and mercenaries on our land, the more chaos, pain and problems it will have for itself later.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote about the situation on Twitter Saturday morning and said he’s convening the Incident Response Group – an emergency government committee – to discuss the ongoing Russian turmoil.
U.S. President Joe Biden also spoke with the leaders of France, Germany and the United Kingdom on Saturday, the White House said.
“The leaders discussed the situation in Russia. They also affirmed their unwavering support for Ukraine,” a readout said.
Biden was briefed about the unfolding situation in Russia by his national security team on Saturday morning, the White House said, adding that the president will continue to be briefed throughout the day.
Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven major industrial powers conferred earlier Saturday on the situation.
The U.S. State Department and German Foreign Ministry gave few details of the discussion, which also included the European Union’s foreign policy chief.
The State Department said Secretary of State Antony Blinken “reiterated that support by the United States for Ukraine will not change.”
“The United States will stay in close co-ordination with Allies and partners as the situation continues to develop,” Blinken wrote on Twitter.
With files from Associated Press.