Latest overnight in Russia:
One video from #Rostov shows armed men in uniform surrounding the police HQ, while two tanks aim their guns at the building
Residents of the #Russian city, near the #Ukraine border, have been told to stay calm and remain indoors
It comes after #Wagner boss Yevgeny #Prigozhin called for a rebellion against the army - although he has denied attempting a coup
The #Kremlin has ordered Prigozhin's #arrest, and he is being investigated for inciting #mutiny
Anti-terrorist operation introduced in #Moscow:
Mass events cancelled, selective ID checks allowed as well as home searches without warning; surveillance of phone calls and messages; checkpoints can be established anywhere
We are at the (police? Army?) hq. 7.30 AM. Military facilities in Rostov, including the airfield under control. Aircraft that leave for combat (in Ukraine) leave regularly. There are no problems.
We took control so that combat aircraft would not strike us, but the Ukrainians.
The main control centre is operating normally, there are no problems'
Then comes the description of the frontline situation in #Ukraine:
#Prigozhin#Wagner hq statement on the #Ukraine war:
'A huge amount of territory has been lost, the nr of soldiers killed is 3-4X more than it is reported up the chain... losses per day on some days amount to up to a thousand people - these are killed, missing, wounded and the so-called "refuseniks" who refuse not because they are scared, but because they have no way out. No ammunition, no controls. The Chief of the General Staff fled from here (#Rostov ) as soon as he found out that we come.”
Now that more #Russia regions are introducing 'anti-terrorist' regime, here is what it might entail:
-ID checks - in the absence of a document - taking you to the police station for id-ing
-check on phone conversations and messages transmitted via the Internet
-CTO officers can enter any living quarters, as well as the premises of organizations
-use of vehicles of organizations, and in urgent cases - of citizens
-disconnect comms #Prigozhin#Wagner
#Prigozhin on the telegram channel closest associated with him (Prigozhin's cap) says #Putin is mistaken about #betrayal of the motherland - we don't want #Russia to live in corruption, lies and bureacracy - we are the patriots, he says.
Meanwhile on the telegram channel closest associated with #Wagner they reposted a jolly video about how to survive in a civil war
the take of #Ukrainian deputy defence minister, Anna #Malyar:
Whatever state they build, it turns into a “Gulag”, which sooner or later riots and falls apart. The #Ukraine#war showed the weakest point of the #Russia n empire - the fear of the truth. All their decisions are based on lies... This is such an imperial feature - to inflate one's own greatness and overestimate oneself. This prompted them to a completely inadequate decision - to unleash a war w Ukraine' #Prigozhin#wagner
#Russia 's censorship body Roskomnadzor says 'it might' restrict #internet#access in the regions where they started an 'antiterrorist operation', says TASS. These regions are #Moscow and surroundings, #Voronezh region etc
They deny having restricted Telegram, although users complain of app crashes in Moscow, St #Petersburg, #Volgograd, #Voronezh #Prigozhin#Wagner#Putin
latest audio message from what sounds like #Prigozhin on a telegram channel associated with him - about support for him and #Wagner :
“We did not touch a single conscript. We didn't kill a single person along the way. We entered #Rostov and captured the headquarters building without firing a shot. We have not interfered with the work of a single person. There are people with PMC flags on the street.”
The governor of the #Lipetsk region, Igor Artamonov has confirmed on his telegram channel that a #Wagner convoy has passed the area without incidents. He recommended to residents not to leave their homes #Prigozhin#Putin#Russia
Reaction from the #Baltic states: #Latvia 's Foreign Minister said entry for anyone leaving #Russia "due to current events" would not be considered for entry.
#Estonia too has said it is beefing up security along its border, with Prime Minister Kaja Kallas adding that she was in “close touch” with her Latvian, #Lithuanian and #Finnish counterparts. #Prigozhin#Wagner#Putin
Some very interesting sightings popping up on #Russian regional telegram channels - the best way of verifying who is who among the people wearing uniform is currently the well known signage on tanks (V or Z) and a supporting police convoy #Wagner#Prigozhin#Putin#Russia
Looks like #bridges getting blocked closer to the #Moscow region (judging by telegram messages) and some sightings of high calibre weapons on the outskirts of Moscow’s south-western suburbs #Prigozhin#Putin#Russia#Wagner
As #Wagner fighters leave the military headquarters in #Rostov-on-Don, residents of the city have been chanting "Wagner! Wagner!" in an apparent show of support for the #mercenaries.
#Putin 's press sec Peskov says mercenaries who wish to sign a Ministry of Defence contract can, and fighters who took part today's uprising will not be prosecuted.
'The man from the #Kremlin is obviously very afraid and probably hiding somewhere' - was how #Ukraine 's president #Zelensky commented on the day's events, adding "today is a day when there definitely should be no silence. And we definitely need leadership. Today the world saw that the bosses of #Russia do not control anything. Nothing at all. Complete chaos. Complete absence of any predictability. And it is happening on Russian territory, which is fully loaded with weapons." #Prigozhin#Wagner
#Prigozhin 's stmt - so far viewed 6 mill X on telegram:
"They wanted to disband the #Wagner military company. We embarked on a march of justice on 23 June.
In 24 hours, we got to within 200km of #Moscow. In this time we did not spill a single drop of our fighters' blood.
Now the moment has come when blood could be spilled. Understanding responsibility [for the chance] that Russian blood will be spilled on one side, we are turning our columns around and going back to field camps as planned."
What I really want to know is if the Russian military really attacked the Wagner Russian-hired mercenaries?
In some ways the events make more sense if they did. #Prigozhin seemingly kind of flew off the handle and it seemed like "his men" were very united behind him in whatever it was.
He says the Russian Army struck them. Being on the front lines, taking the most losses AND that happens just marching back to Russia almost makes sense.
nodding to your statement
Even if the bombing was fabricated, they apparently got a truck full of money for families of the war dead, the criminal charges dismissed, the death threats & bounty stopped, and I imagine more food & supplies. Who knows what the truth is, but your reasoning is sound.
If in the coming months there is some mysterious change in the military leadership... I'll take that as a sign that #Prigozhin wasn't lying about getting attacked by the Russian army.
It seems like it could have happened. But, also can't rule out some hoax... or even meddling from "other powers" to sow discord. (which would be an impressive operation and cheer me up about all the money we spend on meddling that's ineffective and also probably evil.)
We know they are all liars. Many of their statements were for the Russian people. The public statements undermine Putin’s public image. So it’s not Putin’s hoax to withdraw them while providing a timeline for a false flag nuclear event. It has some form of real under all those competing deceptions. I don’t know what the truth of it is, but the MoD’s constant political attacks against the actual fighting force never seemed sustainable.
@Woodswalked@futurebird Prigozhin has been instrumental in creating and pushing out Kremlin propaganda for years (beside other activities) - he is a skilled operator
@Woodswalked@futurebird any agreement will be only as good as its fulfillment - it was an extremely tricky day for Putin and it is unlikely he will forgive
Putin was already trying to get Prigozhin killed. That hasn’t changed. If Prigozhin looses any bit of support he will be dead. Putin has been getting as many Russian and ethnic minority Russians killed as possible. Is he going to divert all of his troops from defense to attack Belarus? That doesn’t seem likely, but again… I don’t know what the truth is.
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