Summary

  • Russian President Vladimir Putin makes a TV address after Yevgeny Prigozhin's attempted mutiny on Saturday

  • He says steps were taken to avoid major bloodshed during the rebellion, but it took time

  • He accused the organisers of the mutiny of wanting to see Russian society "choked in bloody strife"

  • Wagner fighters can sign a contract with the Russian military, return to their families, or move to Belarus, Putin says

  • Prigozhin agreed to leave Russia for Belarus after calling off his troops - his current whereabouts are unknown

  • The head of the Wagner group recorded an 11-minute audio message after leading Saturday's mutiny

  • In it he says his men headed to Moscow to "hold to account" those leaders he blamed for "mistakes" in the Ukraine war

  • He denied his "march for justice" was aimed at toppling Russian President Vladimir Putin

  1. Google News blocked in Russia, NetBlocks sayspublished at 01:52 British Summer Time 24 June 2023

    Metrics show that the Google News website is currently unavailable in Russia, according to internet usage tracker NetBlocks.

    The UK-based monitoring organisation posted data, external showing a drop in users since the tensions with the Wagner Group began.

  2. In pictures: Russian military vehicles on city streetspublished at 01:42 British Summer Time 24 June 2023

    Security vehicles seen outside the KremlinImage source, Reuters
    Image caption,

    Security vehicles outside the Kremlin in Moscow

    We're seeing images of military trucks on streets in Moscow and the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don.

    Security is being tightened after the Russian authorities accused Wagner mercenary group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin of mounting an armed mutiny.

    Here are the latest photos to emerge.

    An armoured personnel carrier on the streets of rostovImage source, Reuters
    Image caption,

    An armoured personnel carrier on the streets of Rostov

    Military vehiclesImage source, Reuters
    Image caption,

    Another image from Rostov

    A police car seen parked near the KremlinImage source, Reuters
    Image caption,

    A police car seen parked near the Kremlin

  3. What is Wagner?published at 01:31 British Summer Time 24 June 2023

    Wagner group HQ in St PetersburgImage source, Reuters

    Prigozhin's Wagner Group describes itself as a private military company.

    It was first identified in 2014, when it was backing pro-Russian separatist forces in eastern Ukraine.

    At that time it was a secretive organisation, operating mostly in Africa and the Middle East, and is thought to have had only about 5,000 fighters - mostly veterans of Russia's elite regiments and special forces.

    Since then it has grown considerably and has fought alongside the Russian army in Ukraine - particularly in the east of the country.

    Earlier this month, the UK Ministry of Defence said Wagner commands 50,000 fighters in Ukraine.

    It says the organisation started recruiting in large numbers last year because Russia had trouble finding people for the regular army.

    The group was heavily involved in Russia's capture of the city of Bakhmut - an area which has saw intense and bloody fighting for a number of months.

  4. Russian TV interrupts regular programmingpublished at 01:22 British Summer Time 24 June 2023

    Earlier, Russia's state-run Channel 1 interrupted regular programming to broadcast an "emergency news bulletin".

    The announcement recapped earlier official statements about Prigozhin and Wagner and said that Prigozhin's video of the alleged strike was fake and that the defence ministry denied attacking Wagner.

    The emergency announcement also said that FSB - Russia's domestic intelligence agency - had launched a criminal case against Prigozhin and that President Putin was being kept informed.

  5. What is the Wagner boss claiming?published at 01:15 British Summer Time 24 June 2023

    Prigozhin on 5 MayImage source, Reuters
    Image caption,

    Yevgeny Prigozhin with Wagner fighters on 5 May

    Let's recap what Prigozhin has been saying.

    He posted a series of furious recordings online on Friday, accusing Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu of ordering a rocket strike on Wagner’s camps in Ukraine on Friday.

    "Today they carried out a rocket strike on our rear camps, and a huge number of our comrades got killed," he said.

    “They have treacherously cheated us,” he added.

    The Russian defence ministry denied carrying out a rocket attack on Wagner forces.

    Prigozhin then said his troops would oust Shoigu, and called on the Russian army to stand aside.

    “This is not a military coup, but a march of justice,” he said.

    Prigozhin also claimed that Shoigu had personally directed the purported strike and then fled.

    “The evil embodied by the country’s military leadership must be stopped,” he shouted.

    He has since claimed his forces have crossed from Ukraine into Russia, without providing evidence.

    Earlier he released a video saying Russia had had no reason to invade Ukraine and the war had been a disaster.

  6. Russia activating 'Operation Fortress' - local mediapublished at 01:04 British Summer Time 24 June 2023

    An armoured personnel carrier is seen on a street of the southern city of Rostov-on-DoNImage source, Reuters

    According to Russian media, a plan known as "Operation Fortress" has been activated in the city of Rostov-on-Don - which lies about 100km east of the Ukrainian border.

    Essentially, it is a plan for personnel to be in "full readiness", 161.ru reported, external.

    The plan has also reportedly been activated in Moscow which would ensure Kremlin buildings are protected.

    While the exact actions are a state secret, there are reports that the entrances and exits to the Interior Ministry building are currently blocked and military vehicles have been positioned in some Moscow locations.

  7. Biden briefed on latest developmentspublished at 00:58 British Summer Time 24 June 2023

    A White House spokesman says that President Joe Biden is monitoring the situation and has been briefed by his staff on the rapidly unfolding developments in Moscow.

  8. Who is Yevgeny Prigozhin?published at 00:44 British Summer Time 24 June 2023

    Vitaly Shevchenko
    BBC Monitoring

    Yevgeny Prigozhin pictured serving Vladimir Putin at a dinner in 2011Image source, Reuters
    Image caption,

    Yevgeny Prigozhin (left) pictured serving Vladimir Putin (centre) at a dinner in 2011

    Yevgeny Prigozhin, who is now being accused of mutiny, has emerged as a key player in Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

    He is in charge of a private army of mercenaries - known as the Wagner group - leading the Russian onslaught in key areas of the war.

    No stranger to Russia's prisons, Prigozhin recruited thousands of convicted criminals from jail for Wagner - no matter how grave their crimes - as long as they agreed to fight for him in Ukraine. You can watch that below.

    Before Russia started what has become Europe's worst armed conflict since World War Two, Prigozhin was accused of meddling in US elections and expanding Russian influence in Africa.

    And before that, he sold hot dogs and ran a catering company, which was contracted to supply food to the Kremlin, earning him the nickname "Putin's chef".

    Prigozhin's relations with the Russian military have become very strained. He has repeatedly criticised Russia's top brass, claiming the defence ministry starved Wagner of ammunition.

    At one point, Prigozhin even accused Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov of treason.

    Read more: Yevgeny Prigozhin: From Putin's chef to Wagner founder

  9. Prigozhin claims forces have crossed Russian borderpublished at 00:37 British Summer Time 24 June 2023

    Wagner troops have crossed Russia's border with Ukraine in multiple locations, the mercenary group's leader has now claimed.

    In new audio recordings published on Telegram, Yevgeny Prigozhin says his mercenaries were "embraced" by border guards as they passed through.

    He also claimed Russian conscripts ordered to stop them moved aside to allow his troops to pass, adding they are "now entering Rostov" - a city in south-western Russia near the Ukrainian border.

    "But if anyone stands in our way, we will destroy everything that's in our way... We are moving forward, we'll go all the way," Prigozhin added.

    The BBC is not able to verify the claims and no images or videos of Wagner forces in Russia have yet emerged.

  10. Putin has been briefed, Kremlin sayspublished at 00:31 British Summer Time 24 June 2023

    "President Putin has been briefed on all events around Prigozhin. The necessary measures are being taken," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday.

    Russia's Tass news agency says a criminal case against Yevgeny Prigozhin - who runs the Wagner group, a private army of mercenaries that has been fighting alongside the regular Russian army in Ukraine - has been opened.

  11. US monitoring situationpublished at 00:25 British Summer Time 24 June 2023

    The White House has released a brief statement on the situation in Russia.

    "We are monitoring the situation and will be consulting with allies and partners on these developments," said National Security Council spokesperson Adam Hodge.

  12. Extraordinary escalation in Wagner-Kremlin riftpublished at 00:17 British Summer Time 24 June 2023

    Steve Rosenberg
    Russia editor

    It’s no secret that tension has been growing between Russia’s Ministry of Defence and the Wagner mercenary group over how the war in Ukraine has been fought.

    That tension has now come to a head in the most extraordinary fashion.

    First Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin accused the Russian military, his own side, of launching a missile strike on a Wagner base camp, killing, he claimed, many fighters.

    He presented no evidence for that, but he used the claim to declare what he called "A March of Justice", and said he had 25,000 fighters ready to rid the Russian military leadership of evil.

    The Russian authorities accused Prigozhin of organising an armed mutiny. Senior Russian military figures have been calling on Wagner fighters not to obey his orders.

    One lieutenant general described the Wagner chief’s actions as “a stab in the back of the country and the president”.

    The Kremlin said that President Putin had been informed of what was happening.

  13. What exactly is going on?published at 00:17 British Summer Time 24 June 2023

    Here's a quick summary of what we know so far:

    • Yevgeny Prigozhin is under investigation by Russia's security services for inciting mutiny
    • The probe comes after the mercenary commander accused the Kremlin of hitting his troops with a missile strike on Friday
    • In explosive messages on Telegram, Prigozhin said the "evil" in the military leadership must be stopped and vowed to "march for justice"
    • The Kremlin has denied the strike happened and called on the Wagner chief to halt "illegal actions"
    • Security in Moscow has been stepped up
    • Senior generals have called on Wagner fighters to stand down, while Russia's security services have said they should detain Prigozhin
  14. Thanks for joining our live coveragepublished at 00:14 British Summer Time 24 June 2023

    We're covering the latest on an astonishing escalation of Russian infighting.

    Late on Friday night in Moscow, security was stepped up at locations such as government buildings and transport facilities, after the head of Wagner, Russia's mercenary group, seemed to call for an armed rebellion against Russia's military.

    Yevgeny Prigozhin also accused the Russian military of launching a deadly missile strike on his Wagner troops.

    He's now being investigated for inciting mutiny, the Kremlin has said.

    There are a lot of unknowns and unverified information coming out of Russia tonight.

    Stay with us while we try to make sense of it for you, and bring you the latest developments.

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