MOSCOW, June 24, 2023 (AFP) – The mayor of Moscow said on Saturday that “anti-terror” measures were being taken in the Russian capital after the chief of mercenary group Wagner vowed to bring down the country’s military leadership.
Authorities in the regions of Rostov and Lipetsk also said security had been reinforced there.
Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said earlier his units, which spearheaded an assault in eastern Ukraine, had entered the southern region of Rostov.
“In connection with the incoming information in Moscow, anti-terrorist measures aimed at strengthening security are being taken,” Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on social media.
Lipetsk governor Igor Artamonov said he was in a meeting with members of the FSB security service.
The FSB has launched a probe into calls to stage an “armed rebellion”.
Prigozhin, who has for months been mired in a feud with the defence ministry, on Friday accused Moscow of targeting his forces with deadly missile strikes and vowed to retaliate.
He urged Russians to join his forces and punish Moscow’s military leadership in the most audacious challenge to President Vladimir Putin since the start of the offensive in Ukraine last year.