BBC Monitoring

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko has held talks with Wagner mercenary group head Yevgeny Prigozhin during which Prigozhin agreed to stop his troops and "de-escalate the situation", Rossiya 24 news channel said.

"Prigozhin accepted Lukashenko's proposal to stop the movement of Wagner in Russian territory and on further steps to de-escalate tension," Rossiya 24 said, quoting Lukashenko's press service.

It also said it was proving "possible to find an acceptable variant of de-escalating [the situation] with security guarantees for Wagner PMC's fighters".

Rossiya 24 said the conversation had been agreed with Putin.

Wagner mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin has put out a voice note on his Telegram channel saying he has has agreed to "stop" the movement of his troops who are advancing on the Russian capital.

We will bring you more updates shortly.

Heavy machinery destroying tarmac on road to Moscowpublished at 18:10 British Summer Time 24 June 2023

18:10 BST 24 June 2023

The authorities of the regions bordering Moscow have been taking increasingly serious steps to slow down the Wagner Group from approaching the Russian capital, such as closing roads or limiting traffic.

It seems that in some cases, they have resorted to destroying the road.

The BBC has verified videos of heavy machinery and tractors being used to dig up roads in the Lipetsk region road leading to Moscow.

Image source, Getty Images

Sarah Rainsford, a BBC foreign correspondent who has reported from Russia, says it's difficult to get independent and verified information from the country due to restrictions on the press.

Rainsford herself was expelled from Russia six months before the Ukraine war.

But she said the rebellion marks a "key moment" for Russia.

"Yevgeny Prigozhin is a creature of the Kremlin," she said. "He was basically enabled by Vladimir Putin to do an awful lot of the Kremlin's dirty work, and now Yevgeny Prigozhin is leading this armed mutiny against Putin."

She added there was "really no clear sign actually of where it goes next".

As you would expect, the US is closely monitoring the situation in Russia.

The White House has just told media that President Biden and Vice President Harris were briefed by their national security team this morning (local time) about the latest developments.

That briefing also included key senior advisers.

The president and vice president will continue to be briefed throughout the day, the White House said.

BBC Monitoring

Russian state TV channels have largely kept to normal weekend schedules today, although there have been some special news bulletins.

This morning, President Putin’s address to the nation was shown across TV stations.

But the developments have not been covered extensively, with rolling news channel Rossiya 24 even finding time to air a half-hour film paying tribute to Putin’s late friend Silvio Berlusconi.

The channels did identify Yevgeny Prigozhin as the main culprit behind the uprising, but did not show the Wagner leader or quote him directly. Though a prominent figure in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Prigozhin is not a familiar face to Russian TV viewers.

His Wagner mercenary group has often been praised on state channels, but Prigozhin himself has barely been mentioned since 24 February 2022. Later bulletins outlined steps being taken by the authorities to counter the Prigozhin result, but also tried to reassure viewers.

A correspondent on Rossiya 1 claimed that everything was “calm” in Rostov-on-Don, which Wagner forces say they have occupied, and that the city, though quiet, was going about its daily business.

Image source, Reuters

We've been hearing a lot about the Wagner group of mercenaries and their boss, Yevgeny Prigozhin.

We've just published this post about the Wagner group, but what is a mercenary?

Put simply, mercenaries are people who are hired to fight for money. They are not part of an official military.

According to the UN, it is illegal under international law to use mercenaries in armed conflict.

Mercenary forces are illegal in Russia but they have been instrumental in Russia's war in Ukraine.

In 2022, the Wagner Group registered as a company and opened a new headquarters in St Petersburg. That HQ has been raided today.

• Read more about the Wagner group of mercenaries here

Wagner mercenaries arrived in Rostov-on-Don earlier today. Some troops then left and are proceeding north towards Moscow, but many "Wagnerites" have stayed in Rostov.

Unverified social media videos show Wagner troops walking around the city centre amid the locals - as well as drones flying over crowds and tanks parked in the streets.

Videos also showed an overcrowded Rostov train station, with hundreds of people standing on the platform.

The sale of bus tickets has reportedly been suspended in Rostov, leaving people with limited options to leave the city.

The Moscow region has suspended all mass outdoor events until 1 July, the authorities announced.

It follows the mayor telling everyone to refrain from travelling around the city.

The Wagner Group is a private army of mercenaries that has been fighting alongside the regular Russian army in Ukraine.

As we've been reporting, its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has called for a rebellion, and troops from the group appear to be heading north across Russia, towards Moscow.

The group is estimated to have around 25,000 soldiers, a figure used by Prigozhin on Friday.

In January, the UK Ministry of Defence estimated the Wagner Group commanded a peak of 50,000 troops - however around 20,000 of them have reportedly been killed while fighting in Ukraine.

Wagner Group's 25,000 troops compares with an estimated 800,000 active soldiers in the Russian army.

The force was once estimated at more than one million soldiers, however it is thought to have suffered at least 220,000 casualties during the war.

Russia is thought to have a further 250,000 service members in reserve.

The mayor of Moscow has just asked people to restrict their movements around the capital - rebels from the mercenary Wagner Group appear to be heading towards the city.

Earlier in the day, life was continuing much as normal, albeit with a heavy security presence, and with roadblocks set up to check vehicles.

Some bridges have also been closed.

Here are some pictures from the Russian capital.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Parts of the capital, such as the central Red Square, have been closed.

Image source, Reuters

But earlier in the day, many people were still out as normal.

Image source, EPA

Throughout the day, Wagner troops appear to have been moving north towards Moscow.

Earlier this afternoon, the governor of the region of Lipetsk, south of Moscow, confirmed that Wagner was crossing the region, with video showing a convoy heading north.

And Russian authorities appear to be seriously concerned that Wagner troops will make it to Moscow - soon.

A short while ago, a video posted on Telegram and verified by the BBC showed lorries blocking a bridge 97km (60 miles) from the outskirts of Moscow. A screenshot of the video is below.

The mayor of Moscow has also announced the start of a "counter-terrorist operation regime".

Image source, Telegram

The mayor of Moscow has just announced that Monday will be a "non-working day" and asked people to restrict their movement around the city, as the capital braces for possible repercussions of the Wagner rebellion.

Earlier, Russian authorities announced a "counter-terrorist operation" in the city of Moscow, the Moscow region, and Voronezh region to south.

This gives authorities a number of special powers including:

• Restricting the movements of people and transport
• Monitoring or restricting communications
• The right to search people and vehicles
• Evacuating the population if needed

"The situation is difficult," Moscow mayor Sobyanin said in his statement posted on Telegram.

He added that it's possible some roads or neighbourhoods in the city will be closed to traffic.

Image source, EPA

The mayor of Moscow, Sergei Sobyanin, has just put out a statement on Telegram announcing that "a counter-terrorist operation regime has been declared in Moscow" and that Monday will be a "non-working day" to "minimise risks".

He asked Muscovites to "refrain from travelling around the city as much as possible".

"City services are on high alert," he said.

Wagner mercenaries appear to be moving north from central regions of Russia, in the direction of the capital.

The crisis is Russia is likely to deplete Russian forces on the frontlines in Ukraine.

The Wagner Group was one of only two big, effective fighting forces on the Russian side, BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said on an emergency episode of Ukrainecast.

"The only significant military victory that Russia has achieved - and even that is a qualified one - is the taking of Bakhmut... and that was the Wagner group. They're off the battlefield now," he said.

And Russia will need to divert resources from Ukraine if it wants to halt the rebellion, the BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse said.

"The rest of the Russian military will now be in disarray, trying to figure out how to counter this domestic threat... rather than how to counter the Ukrainian counteroffensive.

"So one can only imagine that this will be good for the Ukrainian side."

• You can catch more of the episode here.

Events are unfolding at a dramatic pace in Russia. This is what has happened over the past few hours.

• The rebelling Wagner mercenary group says it has seized control of Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia, and reports suggest it also controls key sites in Voronezh, a city further north.
• Wagner troops appear to be advancing in the direction of Moscow, and have been spotted as far north as the Lipetsk region - which is still hours from the capital.
• Video from regions along their route - some of which the BBC has verified - appear to show explosions, and mercenary boss Prigozhin claims his convoys have been fired upon.

• Travel has been restricted in a region bordering Moscow, while people in other areas such as Lipetsk have been urged not to leave their homes.
• The Kremlin has rejected claims Putin has left Moscow, after his plane was spotted on a flight tracker heading north west.
• And Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has responded to the unfolding situation, saying: "Russia's weakness is obvious."

We'll have more updates for you as they come.

You can watch our continuing coverage by pressing the Play icon at the top of this page.

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You can, of course, also follow events by reading this page - scroll down for the most recent updates.

Abdujalil Abdurasulov
BBC News, Kyiv

Image source, Reuters

The Wagner head is certainly unhappy with the war in Ukraine - calling it a "disgrace" - but not because the Russian military is wiping out entire cities and committing war crimes.

He's critical of the army and its leadership for not fighting well enough.

Russian forces have had to retreat from territories they’d gained, and Prigozhin says army bosses are weak because they are unwilling to use tactical nuclear weapons.

But Prigozhin has also repeated Moscow’s propaganda to justify the invasion, calling people living in eastern Ukraine “genetically Russian”.

"This is a sacred war against those who offend Russian people," he said in his recent statement.

So Prigozhin must be seen as part of the radical pro-war group in Russia who are demanding more drastic action to defeat Ukraine.

And in their view, the current leadership is unable to achieve this.

Image source, Reuters

Yevgeny Prigozhin has now confirmed earlier media reports that a large amount of cash was found during raids on one of his offices by Russia's FSB security service.

And the money found in those raids does indeed belong to the Wagner Group, he says.

In an audio message on his Telegram channel, he refers to one van and two buses loaded with money.

He says these are the funds to cover compensation payments to killed Wagner fighters, and other expences.

"Wagner has been operating for the past 10 years using only cash - as agreed in our contract. I fully adhere to it," Prigozhin says.

He provided no details about the exact amount - but earlier Russian media outlets said 4bn rubles (£38m; $48m) had been discovered during a raid by the FSB on Prigozhin's office in the city of St Petersburg.