In a message posted to Telegram on Saturday morning, Yevgeny Prigozhin said that all the members of his Wagner group of mercenaries were "ready to die" in his action against the Russian military.

"All of us are ready to die. All 25,000, and then another 25,000," he said in an audio message, adding the action was being taken "for the Russian people".

Image source, Reuters

This is an embarrassment for Putinpublished at 09:18 British Summer Time 24 June 2023

09:18 BST 24 June 2023

Steve Rosenberg
BBC Russia editor in Moscow

The Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin has said he’ll move on from Rostov-on-Don, the Russian city that he now claims to control, to Moscow.

Security will be tightened significantly around the Russian capital, and further afield, to make sure Wagner fighters cannot reach the capital.

Already this morning we’ve heard that an “anti-terrorist regime” has been introduced in the Moscow region. The Russian authorities are clearly trying to do all they can to contain this.

It’s a very difficult situation for Moscow. The fact that the head of the Wagner Group, with his fighters, has said his troops have taken over the major Russian city Rostov is a huge embarrassment to President Putin.

Prigozhin has undermined Putin's justification for Ukraine warpublished at 09:11 British Summer Time 24 June 2023

09:11 BST 24 June 2023

Steve Rosenberg
BBC Russia editor in Moscow

The Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin has been very publicly criticising the Russian military leadership for months - in particular, the defence minister Sergei Shoigu. That has got more and more vocal.

It came to the point yesterday morning when he accused Shoigu of being responsible for the start of the war in Ukraine.

This goes completely against the arguments President Putin has made. Putin claimed he began the so-called ”special military operation” to “de-Nazify” and demilitarise Ukraine. He claims this is in order to protect the security of Russia.

Prigozhin has very publicly said this is not true - that this war was started because the defence minister wanted to be promoted from general to marshal.

The Wagner leader has now completely undermined the Kremlin argument. That is dangerous for the Kremlin, especially since Russia’s war in Ukraine has not gone at all according to plan.

After 16 months, there’s no sign of victory for Putin.

Image source, Reuters

We've been hearing a lot about the band of mercenaries known as the Wagner Group, whose leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has called for a rebellion against the Russian army.

What do we know about them?

The Wagner Group (officially called PMC Wagner) describes itself as a "private military company".

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

Since then, it has grown considerably.

The UK's Ministry of Defence says Wagner started recruiting in large numbers in 2022 because Russia had trouble finding people for its regular army.

About 80% of Wagner's troops in Ukraine have been drawn from prisons, the US National Security Council said at the start of this year.

In Ukraine, Wagner troops played a major part in the long and costly fight to take the city of Bakhmut from Ukrainian forces.

• Ready more about the Wagner Group here.

Image source, Reuters

Yevgeny Prigozhin is at the centre of today's news. Following months of discontent, he has called for a rebellion against the army - although he has denied attempting a coup.

But who is he, and why is he so important?

He has emerged as a key player in Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in charge of a private army of mercenaries - called the Wagner Group - leading the Russian onslaught in key areas of the war.

He is from St Petersburg, Vladimir Putin's home city.

Following some time in prison for theft, Prigozhin set up a chain of stalls selling hot dogs in St Petersburg. Business went well and within a few years, in the lawless 1990s, Prigozhin was able to open expensive restaurants in the city.

Later, Prigozhin's catering company Concord was contracted to supply food to the Kremlin, earning him the nickname "Putin's chef".

After years of denying that Wagner even existed, on 27 July 2022 Kremlin-controlled media suddenly admitted that it was fighting in eastern Ukraine.

Prigozhin also started posting videos on social media - apparently filmed in occupied parts of Ukraine - in which he boasted of Wagner's exploits there.

Read more about Yevgeny Prigozhin here.

In the last few minutes we have had an intelligence update from the UK's Ministry of Defence.

It says some Wagner units "are moving north through Vorenezh Oblast, almost certainly aiming to get to Moscow".

Vorenezh lies halfway between the capital Moscow and Rostov-on-Don, the Russian city that the Wagner mercenary group claims it now controls. The UK MoD says Wagner has "almost certainly" occupied key sites in Rostov-on-Don.

The update describes this rebellion as "the most significant challenge to the Russian state in recent times".

It describes the feud as escalating into an "outright military confrontation", and says Wager Group forces "crossed from occupied Ukraine into Russia in at least two locations".

It also says some Russian troops "have likely remained passive, acquiescing to Wagner".

"Over the coming hours, the loyalty of Russia’s security forces, and especially the Russian National Guard, will be key to how the crisis plays out."

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

The Kremlin has now published the full text of Putin speech.

It is titled "an appeal to the citizens of Russia", in an apparent attempt to stress the importance of unity in the country - amid growing splits and public discontent over Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Putin even referred to the events of 1917, when "Russians were killing Russians" during a bloody civil war.

In the speech, he again claimed that Russia was now "rebuffing neo-Nazi aggression" - the standard Kremlin propaganda rhetoric to justify the invasion of Ukraine.

Although he didn't mention Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner mercenaries, by name, his address is seemingly aimed as a direct warning to Prigozhin.

Putin stressed that "decisive measures would be taken to stabilise the situation" in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don - where Prigozhin claims to have taken control of all "military facilities".

At the same time, the Russian president praised as "heroes" those Wagner members who have been fighting and dying alongside Russia's armed forces in Ukraine.

Steve Rosenberg
BBC Russia editor in Moscow

This is a huge challenge to the Kremlin, and to President Vladimir Putin.

The Wagner mercenaries have been fighting on the side of Russia. Their leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has had very close links to the Kremlin and President Putin for years.

In Putin’s TV address he said this is a “stab in the back” for the country and the Russian people.

This is tough talking we’re seeing from Putin today - someone who’s trying to show that he’s still in control of the situation.

We’ll have to see how events develop today to see whether he is.

BBC Monitoring

Moving away from Putin's speech for a second, Russian law enforcement appears to have conducted a raid on the Wagner office in St Petersburg, local news outlet Fontanka has reported.

"Law enforcers have entered PMC Wagner Centre on St Petersburg's Zolnaya street," the outlet reported.

Two buses with riot police and national guards have arrived at the building, it reports, entering together with people in plain clothing.

Fontanka posted about the raid on its Telegram channel on Saturday.

The news outlet claimed that "people in masks and with automatic rifles" were deployed near St Petersburg's Blagoveshchensky bridge, where a hotel and a restaurant linked to Wagner boss Yevgeni Prigozhin are located.

Fontanka later published what is says is a video of law enforcement entering the Wagner Centre and photos of armed men near Prigozhin-linked properties.

President Putin has spoken for the first time since the Wagner mercenary group vowed to topple Russia's military leadership.

We'll bring you analysis of what he said shortly, but for now, here's a video of a section of Putin's speech, with voiceover translation.

In his address to the nation, he urged the consolidation of all forces and said what was happening was "a betrayal" and "a knife in the back of our people".

Putin also stresses that all "necessary orders have been given" to deal with the crisis, pledging to defend Russia.

And that's the end of his short TV address - he did not mention Prigozhin once.

He did mention Wagner mercenaries, but only to praise them for fighting for Russia.

The Russian president also warns of "inevitable punishment" for those dividing the Russian society.

And he says that a counter-terrorism regime is now in place in the capital Moscow and several other regions.

Image source, AFP

Putin says Russia's future is at stake, describing the actions of mutineers as a "stab in the back".

Without specifically mentioning Wagner group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, Putin says the high "ambitions" of some have led to "high treason".

In his address, Putin says some Russians have been "tricked into a criminal adventure" - without specifically mentioning rebellious Wagner fighters.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has begun addressing the nation - stay tuned for updates on what he says.

Events are moving quickly, with plenty of claims and counter-claims.

Russia's defence ministry has said Wagner fighters were "tricked into the criminal adventure and armed rebellion" by Prigozhin, the leader of the mercenary group.

In a statement carried on state-run media, the ministry said many Wagner members "had already realised their mistake" and now wanted assistance from the authorities to be able to "return safely" to their permanent bases.

It did not provide any evidence for this claim.

Meanwhile, Rossiya 24 TV channel aired footage purportedly showing Wagner members going back under control of the armed forces.

The video has not been independently verified.

Prigozhin - who claims to have 25,000 fighters under his command - is yet to publicly comment on the defence ministry's statement.

Samuel Horti
Live reporter

Good morning. If you're just joining us, welcome to our live coverage.

I'm here in London with my colleagues James Harness, Yaroslav Lukov, Michael Sheils McNamee, and others, as we bring you the latest from events in Russia, including analysis from our experts around the world.

A lot has happened overnight, so here's a recap of events:

• In an astonishing escalation of Russian infighting, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Russian Wagner mercenary group, has called for a rebellion against the army - although he has denied attempting a coup.
• Moscow accuses him of armed mutiny.
• Prigozhin says his forces have marched from Ukraine into Russia and control key sites in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don.
• Prigozhin has accused the Russian military of carrying out a deadly missile strike on Wagner troops in Ukraine, which the defence ministry denies
• He posted a video in which he says Wagner forces will continue to blockade the city and move on to Moscow unless defence chiefs Sergei Shoigu and Valery Gerasimovn meet him

• Moscow has introduced anti-terror measures - armoured vehicles have been seen on the streets
• The M4 highway connecting Moscow and Rostov has been closed at the border between Lipetsk and Voronezh regions, the Lipetsk governor says
• President Putin is expected to make TV address shortly

We will bring you details on what Putin says and all the latest developments as they happen.

Stay with us.

One of Russia's top military commanders, Gen Sergei Surovikin, has urged Wagner mercenary fighters to "obey the will and command" of President Putin and return to their base.

The video below has subtitles.

A video which has emerged in the past few hours shows Yevgeny Prigozhin meeting with Russia's Deputy Defence Minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov.

It is unclear when the footage was taken, external, but it purports to show Prigozhin sitting down with Yevkurov and Vladimir Stepanovich Alekseev, the deputy chief of Russia's military intelligence service.

Prigozhin has demanded a meeting with Russia's chief of the general staff Valery Gerasimov and Russia’s Defence Minister, Sergei Shoigu.

The video was allegedly taken at Russia's southern military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don.

The BBC has not independently verified the footage.

Steve Rosenberg
BBC Russia editor

Yevgeny Prigozhin claims this is not a military coup. But his aim seems to be to topple Russia’s military leadership.

He says that last night Wagner fighters crossed the border from Ukraine into Russia and entered the city of Rostov.

In a video posted this morning on social media, Prigozhin can be seen arguing with senior Russian commanders at the regional army headquarters in Rostov.

“We’ve come here," he says, “because we want to get the chief of the general staff and Russia’s defence minister.” Otherwise, he warned he and his fighters would remain in the building, blockade the city of Rostov, and head to Moscow.

In a separate video Prigozhin claimed that military sites in Rostov, including the airfield, were now under the Wagner’s control.

The Russian authorities have accused Prigozhin of an armed mutiny.