The Guardian has opened a new liveblog.
Pjotr Sauer
Russian security services have moved swiftly against the Wagner boss,
denouncing Prigozhin for “treachery” and ordering the mercenary
group’s fighters to detain their commander.The defence ministry also published videos with several senior
military generals who urged Prigozhin to stop what one commander
described as a “coup.”“This is a stab in the back of the country and the president,” general
Vladimir Alekseyev, the deputy head of Russia’s military intelligence
agency, said in a video appeal to Wagner fighters “This is a coup,”
Alekseyev added.It was not immediately clear if Prigozhin was acting alone. In one
audio message, the warlord claimed to have the support of “the
majority of the army” as well as 25,000 Wagner fighters.But Prigozhin for now appears isolated, with several former allies
denouncing his rebellion. General Sergei Surovikin, the deputy
commander of Russia’s Ukraine campaign, who is believed to be close to
Prigozhin, released a video address ordering the mercenaries to remain
loyal to Putin.“The termination of Prigozhin and Wagner is imminent. The only
possibility now is absolute obliteration, with the degree of
resistance from the Wagner group being the only variable,” wrote
Tatyana Stanovaya, the founder of the political analysis firm R
Politik“Surovikin was dispatched to convince them to surrender. Confrontation
seems totally futile,” she added.While there was no immediate sign that Vladimir Putin’s hold on power
appeared threatened, Stanovaya argued that the dramatic episode will
likely damage his standing.“Many within the elite will now personally fault Putin for letting the
situation escalate to such extremes and for his lack of a timely
adequate response.”
https://twitter.com/francis_scarr/status/1672372908558090240
In an emergency news bulletin tonight, Russian state TV is doing what it always does in the immediate aftermath of things going pear shaped for Moscow
Just repeat official statements from the Kremlin and Defence Ministry
https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1672372440364642305
Ukrainian forces are reportedly conducting active offensive operations in Bakhmut at this moment.
“There are several streets retaken in Bakhmut, there are prisoners.”
Russian MoD reports:
“Taking advantage of Prigozhin’s provocation to disorganize the situation, near Bakhmut, the AFU is concentrating units of the 35th Marine Brigade and the 36th Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the starting lines for offensive operations”
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