Moscow residents warned to stay at home as rebel mercenary vehicles take over Russia's capital
Residents in Moscow have been told to stay in their homes by the mayor with Wagner Group mercenaries expected enter the city.
The Wagner Group’s leader Yevgeny Prigozhin has called for his mercenaries to rebel against Vladimir Putin’s Russian forces, despite denying accusations that he is staging a coup.
Wagner Group forces are believed to have taken the city of Rostov-on-Don, close to the border with Ukraine.
Moscow mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, has released a statement on Telegram in which he announced that ‘a counter-terrorist operation regime has been declared in Moscow’.
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He said that Monday would be a ‘non-working day’ in order to ‘minimise risks’.
"City services are on high alert," he added.
"The situation is difficult.”
Wagner Group forces are believed to be making their way from central areas of Russia towards the capital, with convoys spotted travelling as far north as Lipetsk.
Travel has also been restricted in the area of Kaluga, which borders the Moscow federal region.
The governor has declared that road traffic will be restricted in some regions.
Vladislav Shapsha wrote: “Please refrain from traveling by private vehicle on these roads unless absolutely necessary.”
So far, there is no indication that Wagner soldiers are in the area, but they are reported to be moving north.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed to punish those involved in the rebellion, calling the actions ‘a knife in the back of our people’.
Security has been significantly increased in Moscow, with some of the city’s bridges closed, as well as popular tourist areas such as Red Square.
The mayor of Moscow also described the security increase as a ‘counter-terrorist operation regime’.
That means that restrictions are in place on the movement of people and transport, police and armed forces have been given the right to search people and vehicles.
As well as that, communications can be monitored and restricted at the request of the authorities, and the population can be evacuated.
In January of this year, the UK Ministry of Defence estimated that the Wagner Group has around 50,000 fighters, with 40,000 believed to have been convicts and the rest made up of contract mercenaries.
However, a figure quoted by Prigozhin on Friday (23 June) suggests that the group may only have 25,000 soldiers now, as more than 20,000 have reportedly been killed in the fighting in Ukraine.
Russia's military is estimated to have as many as 800,000 soldiers at present, having sustained an estimated 220,000 casualties during the ongoing Ukraine war.
The country may have as many as 250,000 fighters in reserve.
Topics: World News, Russia, Ukraine
Tom Wood