Wagner Group now just 400 km away from Moscow
A convoy of Wagner Group forces has been spotted near the village of Krasnoe in Russia’s Lipetsk Oblast, located only 400 kilometres away from Moscow.
Source: Meduza, a Latvian-based Russian media outlet; RBC, a Russian news outlet, citing Igor Artamonov, Lipetsk Oblast Governor; Ukrainian special service officers in a comment for Ukrainska Pravda
Details: A convoy of Wagner Group forces has been spotted in the village of Krasnoe in the northwest of Lipetsk Oblast. Footage confirming this has been posted to a Telegram channel covering the nearby city of Yelets.
The video, which Meduza journalists were able to geolocate, suggests that Wagner Group military vehicles were travelling on a local road next to the railway tracks.
A source told Meduza he saw military personnel dressed in sand-coloured camouflage uniforms without insignia on the outskirts of Krasnoe.
Google Maps shows that Krasnoe is just over 400 kilometres from Moscow.
Igor Artamonov, Governor of Lipetsk Oblast, later said that Wagner Group’s military vehicles are advancing through the oblast.
"Law enforcement agencies and the government, including municipal authorities, are taking the measures necessary to ensure the security of local residents. The situation is under control," the governor claimed.
He reminded the residents of Lipetsk Oblast that they should remain in their homes and refrain from travelling.
Sources in Ukraine’s special service told Ukrainska Pravda that Wagner Group fighters had reached Lipetsk Oblast around 15:00 Kyiv time. If they keep advancing at this pace, they will reach Moscow this evening.
Background:
- On the evening of 23 June, Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed that the regular Russian army had launched a missile strike on the Wagner mercenaries’ rear camps. He has therefore deployed 25,000 of his mercenaries "to restore justice".
- Prigozhin claimed that his forces had taken control of military facilities in Rostov-on-Don, including the air base, and were heading "to Moscow" and that his soldiers had shot down three Russian helicopters. Wagner mercenaries have also seized military facilities in the Russian city of Voronezh.
- In an emergency address on 24 June, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia is "fighting for survival" and that there are attempts to "organise a rebellion" in the country.
- UK Defence Intelligence reported that Wagner Group fighters are aiming to reach Moscow.
- On the afternoon of 24 June, Russian media reported that the Office of the President of the Russian Federation anticipates that Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Wagner Group fighters will likely reach Moscow’s outskirts in the next few hours, with fighting expected near Russia’s capital. Ukrainian intelligence has information that Putin has urgently left Moscow for his residence in Valdai.
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