Moscow mayor urges residents to limit travel as Wagner group approaches

Soldiers of the Wagner Group military company talk
Image source: AP Soldiers of the Wagner Group military company talk to each other on a street in Rostov-on-Don, Russia guarding an area at the headquarters of the Southern Military District

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin banned residents from using public transport and asked them to stay indoors as a measure against a mutiny of mercenaries with the private military company Wagner.

The mayor asked the city’s residents to refrain from using their cars during an anti-terrorist operation in Moscow and the surrounding region, which authorities launched on Saturday.

He declared Monday a non-working day for most people except civil servants and employees of some industrial enterprises.

Sobyanin said all major city services were put on high alert and residents were advised to report any emergencies.

Earlier, reports suggested that the Wagner Group had taken control of all military facilities in the city of Voronezh, located between Moscow and Rostov-on-Don.

The BBC reported that there had not yet been an official statement from the Voronezh city authorities, while the governor of the Voronezh region, Alexander Gusev, said the country’s military was taking the necessary “operational and combat measures”.

Read this also | ‘Uprising’ in Russia: What threat to Putin leadership from Wagner mercenary group?

Read this also | Big blow for Putin: Wagner forces seize military building in attempt to topple government

latest world news