The military coup of mercenaries Yevgeny Prigozhin has reached the Lipetsk region. Wagner PMC vehicles appeared in the region, said Governor Igor Artamonov.
“Law enforcement agencies and authorities, including in the municipalities, are taking all necessary measures to ensure the safety of the population”, he wrote in his Telegram channel.
The head of the region also advised citizens “not to leave their homes and refrain from traveling by any means of transport”.
Columns of the Wagner PMC were spotted near the town of Yelets in the Lipetsk region, wrote the pro-Russian telegram channel Rybar. There may be from 150 to 400 pieces of equipment in the columns of mercenaries. A photo of the Wagner technicians was published by the Russian Spring Z-channel.
One of the columns of mercenaries was also spotted in the village of Krasnoe in the north-west of the Lipetsk region, noted the Meduza. According to the newspaper, the equipment of the Wagner PMC drove along the local road near the railroad tracks. It is a little over 400 kilometers from the village to Moscow.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner PMC, announced a “march of justice”. His fighters went to Rostov and occupied military facilities in the city. According to Prigozhin, the number of militants is 25 000 people. And some of them, in all likelihood, have gone further north – towards Moscow, the UK Ministry of Defense wrote in a daily bulletin.
“In the coming hours, the loyalty of Russian security forces will be key to the development of the crisis. This is the most serious challenge to the Russian state in recent times”, the British agency stated.
“We want to get the chief of the General Staff and Shoigu. Until they are gone, we are here, blockading the city of Rostov and going to Moscow”, Prigozhin said after occupying facilities in Rostov.
Sources of the BBC and Reuters in the Russian security services reported that the Wagner PMC also seized military facilities in Voronezh. However, Rybar later wrote that the mercenary units did not enter the city itself. “Some moved in a detour through the east of the region, and some by a detour road”, the channel wrote.
Fighting broke out in the suburbs of Voronezh. Judging by the published video, the Vagner PMC managed at least to damage Russian helicopters. According to OSINT-project Oryx, the Russian army in less than a day lost: IL-22, two Mi-8 electronic warfare helicopters, Mi-35, Tiger fighting vehicle and a military KamAZ. At the same time, the Wagner PMC has lost only its UAZ, the portal notes.
Meanwhile, Moscow began to prepare for a possible attack of the mercenaries. On the night of June 24 military vehicles began to move into the capital, the FSB and the army also raised the alarm in the city.
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin announced Saturday morning about “anti-terrorist measures” in the city: “Additional control on the roads has been introduced. There may be a restriction on the holding of public events. Please be understanding of the measures taken”.
