Wagner mercenary group moved towards Moscow
Countries around the world were on Saturday closely watching events unfolding in Russia, where a mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group posed the most serious challenge yet to President Vladimir Putin’s long rule.
Here are the top points in this big story:
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Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin on Saturday warned the situation in the capital was “difficult,” as forces of the Wagner mercenary group moved towards Moscow to oust Russia’s military leadership.
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“The situation is difficult. I ask you to refrain from travelling around the city as much as possible,” Sobyanin said in a statement, warning of possible road closures and announcing Monday was a “non-working” day.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the Wagner mutiny showed Russia was weak. Deputy Defence Minister Ganna Malyar said it provided a “window of opportunity” for Kyiv on the battlefield.
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Russia warned the West against taking advantage of the armed insurrection by the Wagner group in Russia to achieve what Moscow said were their “anti-Russian” goals. “We warn the Western countries against any hint of possible use of the domestic Russian situation to achieve their Russophobic goals,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
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“All goals and objectives of the special military operation will be fulfilled,” the Russian foreign ministry added, using the Kremlin-preferred term for Moscow’s large-scale military intervention in Ukraine.
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Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, once a close Putin ally, said his troops had taken control of the military command centre and airbase in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don, the nerve centre of Russia’s offensive in Ukraine, and vowed to topple Moscow’s top military leaders.
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“We got to Rostov. Without a single shot we captured the HQ building,” Prigozhin said, in an audio message on social media channels, claiming that local civilians had welcomed the operation.
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President Vladimir Putin has vowed to punish the mutineers, calling them “traitors”. Prigozhin fired back at the long-time leader, saying he was “deeply mistaken”.
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While Prigozhin’s outfit fought at the forefront of Russia’s offensive in Ukraine, in recent months it has engaged in a bitter feud with Moscow’s military leadership. He has repeatedly blamed Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff, for his fighters’ deaths.
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President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey was ready to help seek a “peaceful resolution” to an armed rebellion in Russia, in a phone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, his office said. Belarus also backed Moscow in the conflict.
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