Two presidential planes returned to Moscow in the early hours of 25 June, media outlet Agentstvo notes.

Yesterday, in the midst of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s rebellion, they took off from Moscow and disappeared off the radar in the area of the city of Tver, where one of Putin’s residencies is located.

“This information lets us speculate that the president could have been waiting out the mutiny,” the outlet notes.

The Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov denied that Putin had flown to Saint Petersburg. The Il-96 has armed forces operational control equipment on board.

According to Mayor Alexey Logvinenko, the repairs will begin today, the plan is for them to be finished in two days.

Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has held an emergency meeting of the Security Council and instructed the heads of security forces to be prepared for crisis situations.

“Despite the situation in Russia being its domestic affair, Kazakh people are concerned about the situation occurring in a friendly country that Kazakhstan shares the longest border in the world with <…> According to the president, the key domestic policy priority of any state, including Kazakhstan, should be the supremacy of the law as the foundation of public order and social and economic development,” Tokayev’s press service reports.

Criminal charges against the Wagner Group’s Yevgeny Prigozhin for inciting an armed uprising have been dropped, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

According to Peskov, Prigozhin “will leave for Belarus”. It is unknown what he will do there.

Wagner mercenaries are starting to leave the Southern Military District headquarters, TASS reports.

Local outlet Bloknot Rostov says people are applauding and having fun in the street.

161.ru media outlet reports that inebriated locals are trying to climb a tank.

A correspondent of 161.ru says they are getting into their cars. People are seen applauding in the video.

“This morning, Vladimir Putin has informed his Belarusian colleague on the situation in southern Russia with Wagner PMC. The heads of state have agreed on joint action,” the press release says.

“In line with the agreements, the Belarusian president held talks with PMC head Yevgeny Prigozhin.

The talks lasted over the entire day. As a result, they agreed that it is unacceptable to unleash a bloodbath on Russian territory.”

“Yevgeny Prigozhin has accepted Alyaksandar Lukashenka’s offer to stop the advance of Wagner forces on Russian territory and to take further steps to de-escalate tensions.

Currently, an absolutely beneficial and acceptable solution is on the table, with safety guarantees for PMC Wagner fighters.”

The governor of the Rostov region Vasily Golubev has posted a video in which he claims to not have left the city of Rostov-on-Don.

According to him, the regional government continues to do everything necessary to not allow for disruptions in the work of vital infrastructure facilities. Golubev has also reported that the public transport, public services, medical institutions, and emergency medical services are functioning normally in the region.

“There’s no disruptions in the work of industrial plants, commercial organisations, markets. There’s enough food supply. We have a week-long supply [of food] that's being refilled daily. Still, during the day there was a lot of demand for fuel and lubricants. I draw your attention to the fact that the region has enough fuel supply,” he said.

At the end of the video, the governor asked the citizens not to go outside without necessity and to avoid places with a lot of military hardware and armed people gathered.

Around five shots were heard near the Southern Military District HQ in Rostov-on-Don, a RIA Novosti correspondent reports.

Local resident of Rostov-on-Don tells Novaya-Europe exclusively what’s happening in the centre of the city.

“In general, everything’s calm. Unusually many people in the streets in the centre of the city. <…> I saw an elderly woman, she looked about 70, handing out cigarettes to guys in military uniform. The type of elderly woman who lives off a 12,000 rubles [per month] (€130) pension. She had a bag with cigarettes and was handing out cigarettes and water. <…> There are soldiers everywhere across the perimeter and armoured cars with machine guns on standby, ready to fire, at air targets too.”

Mayor of Moscow Sergey Sobyanin has declared Monday, 26 June, to be a non-working day in the Russian capital “in order to minimise risks” — excluding people who work for the government, enterprises of continuous operation, the military-industrial complex, and city services. He has also called upon the residents of Moscow to refrain from travelling around the city, seeing as traffic could be restricted in separate districts and on separate roads.

According to Russia’s Foreign Ministry, the attempt at an armed rebellion carried out by PMC Wagner “has incited a deep aversion among the Russian public which decisively supports Russian President Vladimir Putin”.

The ministry adds that the “revolt plays into the hands of Russia’s foreign foes”.

“We warn Western countries against any hints of potentially using the current situation in Russia for the purpose of reaching their Russophobic goals,” the ministry’s statement concludes.

“First of all, they’re flying really low, secondly, I have never seen anything like this here, they are usually [seen] in [the district] Shchurovo, on the other side,” an eyewitness told Novaya-Europe. The video was taken in the Zaprudy district of Kolomna.

A number of oligarchs and officials have allegedly left Moscow, IStories reports, citing FlightRadar data.

Among them are billionaire Arkady Rotenberg (his plane landed in Baku), Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Denis Manturov (landed in Dalaman, Turkey), Former First Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Potanin (Stambul), and Russian official Boris Kovalchuk (St. Petersburg).

Soon after, a post was published on the official Rotenberg Telegram channel saying that the businessman was still in Russia.

Meanwhile, in St. Petersburg law enforcement employees have sealed off the plane and helicopter personally used by Yevgeny Prigozhin that were located in the Pulkovo airport, Fontanka reports.

Earlier, it was reported that Vladimir Putin had departed Moscow for St. Petersburg, his plane went off the radar. The Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peksov denies that Putin had left Moscow.

Two fighters of PMC Wagner who are currently on leave in the Moscow region told Novaya-Europe that back yesterday they had been contacted by representatives of the PMC leadership and ordered to “be prepared to move towards the incoming units of the PMC”.

In practice, Prigozhin declared mobilisation among his former employees: there could be at least 30,000 of them in addition to the fighters that are already in service, military expert Georgy Aleksandrov tells Novaya-Europe.

Earlier, media outlet IStories reported, citing a Wagner mercenary who took part in the invasion of Ukraine, that the mercenaries had been told to wait for a signal to join the rebellion.

“We’re waiting for an official order from pops [Yevgeny Prigozhin]. Russia’s National Guard and army are refusing to follow orders, while we were ordered to stand by on full alert. Closer to dinner, there should be an order on what to do next,” he said.

The military equipment of PMC Wagner is being transported through the Lipetsk region of Russia, the governor Igor Artamonov reports.

“Law enforcement agencies and the authorities, including the municipal ones, are taking all necessary measures to ensure the safety of the population. The situation is under control. There’s no disruptions in the work of the critical infrastructure facilities. Since the early hours of today, my team, representatives of all agencies, and I have been in the HQ. We’re in contact with all heads of the districts and services. Everyone is working around the clock,” Artamonov said.

Earlier, columns of the PMC’s military hardware were noticed in the suburbs of the city of Yelets, Lipetsk region. Media outlet Agentstvo was able to identify the place shown in the video with the hardware — it’s about 350 km away from Moscow in a straight line.

According to media outlet IStories, the mercenaries could arrive in Moscow by 7 PM Moscow time (GMT+3).

“Belarus remains an ally of Russia that fully shares the goals and objectives of the special military operation. This is a tough and justified mission that has to be done to protect Russian people in Donbas. Essentially, there is a fight for the future of the Slavic world.

Any provocation, any internal conflict in military and political circles, in the information sphere and in civil society plays into the hands of the collective West. It may lead to a catastrophe,” Belarusian state news agency BELTA quotes the Security Council as saying.

For its part, the Belarusian opposition has held an emergency session in light of Prigozhin’s mutiny, opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya wrote on her Telegram channel. The participants of the meeting decided to establish an operational headquarters.

The Belarusian Cabinet of Ministers in exile also called on all Belarusian democratic organisations and volunteers of all units fighting in Ukraine to join the headquarters to develop a joint plan of action and to protect the country’s sovereignty.

Novaya-Europe correspondent Viktor Litovchenko reports that the situation in Belgorod remains stable: there have been no changes in security protocols in military units and administrative buildings. The authorities decided not to cordon off the streets in Belgorod either.

However, from 6 PM on 24 June until 6:00 AM 27 June, the entry to Shebekino and Novaya Tavolzhanka, villages in the Belgorod region that had previously come under heavy shelling, will be closed.

Earlier, Belgorod regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov posted a photo of him and his wife in Belgorod. He added that the “situation is stable”, but there will be increased security measures on the entries to the city.

“The atmosphere was amicable and polite, people asked Wagner fighters questions, there were no forbidden topics. They told us about the fighting, about Bakhmut, stories from service, etc.

“From what I’ve heard from people — they were met as heroes. Most of [the locals] aren’t keen on [Russia’s Defence Minister Sergey] Shoigu and the government, a lot of them have relatives who work in the military and they know the inner workings of the field. They were very insulting towards the mayor and the governor, who were too scared to even face the people in person. People also brought food and water to the fighters, I personally saw six bags of Burger King that people were bringing towards the HQ. Then the Wagner fighters started handing out Russian and Wagner flags and people readily took them.

“No conflicts. Except for the older men who kept asking questions about the reasons for what’s happening, but the fighters responded to their questions patiently, and then the older men would leave. People came here from far away villages just to see Wagner fighters.”

Wagner mercenaries have detained two people in Rostov-on-Don, media outlet Bloknot Rostov reports.

According to the outlet, the mercenaries detained and put two men face down on the ground, they were driving around the city with the self-proclaimed Luhansk “people’s republic” licence plates.

Vladimir Putin’s Il-96 presidential plane with tail number RSD697 took off from Moscow Vnukovo Airport in the direction of St. Petersburg at 2:16 PM Moscow time, and later disappeared off the radars, FlightRadar data suggests.

This was pointed out by IStories and Agentstvo media outlets. The plane disappeared from the tracking system in the area of Tver (a city located about 180 km from Moscow). Putin has a residence in the Tver region, IStories notes.

The Il-96 has armed forces operational control equipment on board. It is unknown who is onboard the plane and where it is going.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denies in a comment to state news agency TASS that Putin left for St. Petersburg.

Prigozhin also claimed that PMC Wagner has not killed any civilians or conscripts since the start of the rebellion.

“We captured the HQ building without a single shot. We didn’t disrupt the work of a single person. Outside, there are people unfolding our flags. In the shops, people are asking our fighters not to pay for themselves. We’re hearing complimentary words,” he added.

“There’s information being spread in the media about some mined barriers. When we came here in the morning, we took a mined barrier off the gate of a [building] near the [Southern Military District] HQ building which had been installed ineptly [before our arrival]. It was not a very professional idea, wasn’t very useful. So we were actually the ones to get rid off that mined barrier,” he said.

It was reported earlier that Wagner’s mercenaries had been mining the streets of Rostov-on-Don. The video shared on social media captured the moment the mercenaries had been unloading mines and installing them as some kind of roadblocks.

According to media outlet 7x7, the weapon hit asphalt and detonated, the shrapnel and blast wave damaged the nearby cars. Their windows were shattered.

“In the areas where the counter terrorism operations are being conducted, a temporary restriction of the work of Internet sources is possible. Currently, the work of the aforementioned resource is not being limited,” Roskomnadzor stated.

One person was injured during the “hard landing” of a Mi-8 helicopter in the Voronezh region, emergency services report.

Telegram channels previously posted videos of the helicopter flying over Voronezh as well as photos of the shot down aircraft. PMC Wagner fighters claimed to have shot down three helicopters that had been trying to attack them.

There are no further details, the correspondent has posted a video of people running from the explosion.

It was reported earlier that the Southern Military District HQ, located in Rostov-on-Don, had been seized by PMC Wagner. Prigozhin was conducting negotiations with the deputy defence minister there.

• In St. Petersburg, the media affiliated with Prigozhin’s media group Patriot are no longer available for users, media outlet Fontanka reports. According to Fontanka, the security forces could have seized the servers during the morning raids and let the employees go home from work.
• Russia’s biggest online retailer Wildberries has started hiding items with the Wagner symbols. They will soon be completely deleted off the website, Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti reports, citing a company source.
• Telegram channels have been posting videos of PMC Wagner recruitment ads being taken off of billboards.

“Despite my status as the State Duma deputy, I do not interfere with the security agency employees taking a look around (searching the place) for what they need.

“It’s no secret that people signed up for PMC Wagner in my office and went to defend their country!” Vlasov wrote.

Traffic across the Moskva River has been halted, Moscow’s Transport Department reports. The work of piers has also been restricted.

“Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has noted that the unfolding events are an internal affair of Russia. Constitutional order and the rule of law are a prerequisite of maintaining law and order in the country. It is the guarantee of public safety and successful public development,” the Kazakhstan presidential administration reports.

The statement notes that Putin has thanked Kazakhstan “for its understanding”.

The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has posted a statement in regards to the armed rebellion by PMC Wagner in Russia on his Telegram channel.

“Anyone who chooses the path of evil destroys themselves. [He] sends columns of servicemen to destroy the life of another country — and cannot keep them from fleeing and betrayal when life strikes back. [He] terrorises with missiles and when they are shot down — humiliates himself to be given Shaheds. [He] humiliates people and throws hundreds of thousands on the war — to eventually barricade himself in the Moscow region from those he himself armed.

“Russia has been masking its weakness and the stupidity of its government with propaganda for a long time. Now there’s so much chaos that no lie can conceal it. And all of this is on one man who keeps scaring [people] with 1917 over and over again, although that’s the only eventuality he can bring Russia towards.

“Russia’s weakness is obvious. It’s a full-scale one. And the longer Russia keeps its forces and mercenaries on our land the more chaos, pain, and problems it will have to face later on. That’s also obvious. Ukraine is able to shield Europe from the spread of Russian evil and chaos.

“We’re maintaining our strength, unity, and power. All of our commanders, all of our warriors know what to do. Glory to Ukraine!”

The highways Don, Ural, and Crimea have been partially closed off in the Moscow suburbs, Russia’s Transport Ministry reports.

In particular, the traffic on the bridges of the Oka River has been restricted. The Telegram channels of the Moscow-region city of Serpukhov report that a checkpoint has been installed near one of the bridges, servicemen are inspecting civilian cars.

Eyewitnesses have shared footage which shows a column of black smoke with Novaya-Europe.

It’s unclear whether the fire is related to the PMC Wagner’s rebellion. Media outlet Ostorozhno Novosti reports, citing local residents, that there’s “fighting” going on in the area. There have been no official statements in regards to the situation.

The leader of PMC Wagner Yevgeny Prigozhin has come out with a new statement.

“The president is deeply wrong about [me] betraying Homeland. We’re patriots of our Homeland. All the PMC Wagner fighters. We’ve been fighting and we are fighting now. And no one is planning to turn themselves in by order of the president, the FSB, or someone else, because we don’t want our country to live amidst corruption, lies, and bureaucracy.

“When we were fighting in Africa, we were told that we needed Africa, and then it got abandoned, because all the money that was supposed to go to aid was pocketed [by others].

“When we were fighting with Ukraine, we went and fought, but it turned out that the ammunition, weapons, all the money that was supposed to be spent on them, is also being pocketed, while officials are sitting by, stealing that [ammunition and weapons] for themselves, exactly in case of this, when someone marches on Moscow.

“Now they’re not trying to save on anything. They’re using planes and helicopters to attack roads that civilians are walking on. Furthermore, they’re striking against civilians because they are missing [their targets] and striking all over the place. This is why we’re the ones who are patriots! And those who oppose us are the ones who remained by the bastards’ side,” he said.

Head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov has commented on the armed rebellion for the first time.

“What’s happening is a knife in the back and an actual armed rebellion! <…> There’s no justification to these actions! I completely support every word spoken by Vladimir Putin!” he wrote in a Telegram post.

Kadyrov noted that a rebellion in the times of war could lead to deadly consequences.

He also said that Chechen fighters of the Defence Ministry and National Guard were sent to the “zones of tension”. He did not clarify which regions he meant.

“Within the framework of the counter terrorism operation being conducted on the territory of the Voronezh region, Russia’s Armed Forces are taking the necessary operational and combat measures. I will keep you updated as the situation develops,” the Voronezh region governor Alexander Gusev said.

“You heard what Putin said,” one of the locals yells at the insurgents in the video.

In another video, a man on a bike tells people in uniform: “Are you defenders of the Fatherland or not? If you are its defenders, why are you throwing everything into disarray?! Who do you think you are? <…> I will not tolerate such rudeness.”

“There is currently a lot of false information on military vehicle columns moving across the Voronezh region’s territory being posted on social media. By Russian law, there’s liability for those who spread messages of this kind. All the instances will be seen to by [Russia’s media watchdog] Roskomnadzor and the regional prosecutor’s office,” the governor of the Voronezh region Alexander Gusev warned.

He added that those who post [fake] information are interested in destabilising the situation in the county and called upon the citizens to only monitor the information shared by official sources.

At the same time, media outlet Ostorozhno Novosti has posted a video which allegedly shows people in military uniform and military vehicles on the highway towards Voronezh.

Security forces are raiding the PMC Wagner recruitment centre in the city of Vladimir, Russian Telegram channel Mash reports.

According to the UK Defence Intelligence, Wagner Group forces have “crossed from occupied Ukraine into Russia in at least two locations” and have “almost certainly occupied key security sites, including the HQ which runs Russia’s military operations in Ukraine” in the city of Rostov-on-Don.

“Further Wagner units are moving north through” the Voronezh region, “almost certainly” towards the Russian capital, the ministry adds. The ministry claims that some parts of security forces “have likely remained passive, acquiescing to Wagner”, seeing as there’s almost no evidence of fighting between them.

“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. This represents the most significant challenge to the Russian state in recent times,” the UK ministry notes.

In the Tula, Tver, and Kaliningrad regions of Russia, all mass events planned for the weekend have been cancelled.

Graduation parties in Moscow’s schools and the city-wide prom celebration in the Gorky Park have been postponed by a week.

The distance between Voronezh and the capital is over 500 km. It would take almost seven hours to reach it through the M-4 highway, without making stops. On the way there are the cities of Lipetsk, Tula, and Novomoskovsk. If after Tula one would make a turn to the M-2 highway, there would be the cities of Serpukhov and Podolsk and the town of Klimovsk on the way.

PMC Wagner mercenaries have taken control of military facilities in the city of Voronezh, Reuters reports, citing a Russian intelligence source.

The information was confirmed by a BBC source.

“All key facilities in Voronezh have been taken over, the same [situation] as in Rostov,” the BBC source affiliated with Russia’s Federal Security Service said.

“Two Mi-8 MTPR were shot down. Helicopters of electronic warfare. The crews are alive. Also, a Mi-35 was shot down. Whether it was [shooting at] the column, I don’t know. The crew is alive,” the post says.

Previously, PMC Wagner mercenaries said that they had downed three helicopters that had been trying to attack them.

Vladimir Putin has addressed the nation. He started off by addressing the citizens of Russia, security forces, and servicemen.

“I’m also addressing those who were dragged into a dangerous escapade — an armed rebellion,” Putin said.

The president added that Russia was undergoing a difficult moment when “the entire world is against it”, thus Prigozhin’s actions were a knife in the back of Russia and its people. He compared Prigozhin’s rebellion to the events of 1917.

“What we’re facing is specifically treason. Excessive ambitions have led to treason. Treason towards one’s country, one’s people, and the cause Wagner’s fighters and commanders fought and died side by side with our other units,” Putin emphasised.

He warned that everyone “who consciously chose the road of treason will face inevitable punishment — both in front of the law and in front of our people”.

The president also stated that the situation in the city of Rostov-on-Don was difficult.

He promised to defend Russia and the “constitutional order”.

The operation’s goal is preventing potential terrorist attacks, the National Anti-Terrorism Committee noted. Furthermore, the counter terrorism operation was announced in the Voronezh region.

According to the law, during a counter terrorism operation the authorities are allowed to:

• Check individuals’ identification documents;
• Control phone conversations and any other means of communication;
• Strengthen the protection of public order; Inspect citizens’ vehicles, take them out of the operation zone;
• Turn off communications;
• Use citizens’ vehicles and enter their houses;
• Introduce quarantine;
• Suspend operations at hazardous production facilities and organisations that use explosive, radioactive, chemically and bio hazardous substances.

This will be the Russian president’s second speech today. At midnight, the Kremlin Telegram account posted a [pre-recorded] video with Putin on the occasion of Youth Day.

“Believe in yourselves, dream big, reach for your goals, and success will definitely follow,” the president said addressing the young people of Russia.

The Grey Zone Telegram channel, affiliated with PMC Wagner, has published a video of the meeting between Yevgeny Prigozhin and Deputy Defence Minister Yusof Yevkurov at the Southern Military District headquarters. Prigozhin is demanding to meet with head of Russia’s General Staff Valery Gerasimov and Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu.

Later, a video appeared showing Prigozhin saying that the headquarters and other military objects in Rostov-on-Don (including an airfield) are under PMC Wagner’s control.

“You were tricked into Prigozhin’s criminal gamble and participation in an armed insurgency.

“Many of your comrades from several detachments have already realised their mistake, asking for help in ensuring that they can return safely to their permanent bases. We have already provided such assistance to all of these fighters and commanders.

“Please show discretion and get in touch with representatives of the Russian Ministry of Defence or law enforcement agencies as soon as possible. We guarantee everyone’s safety,” the statement reads.

“Due to the information coming in, Moscow has launched counter-terrorism efforts aimed to boost security measures. Additional traffic control measures have been introduced. Mass events may be restricted. We hope for your understanding,” he wrote on his Telegram channel.

Moscow region governor Andrey Vorobyev announced similar measures.

“Masked people with raffles are also operating near the Blagoveshchensky bridge — the hotel and restaurant affiliated with Prigozhin are located at the embankment there. The Academic street was cordoned off from both sides, armed employees are guarding the embankment itself as well,” St. Petersburg local media outlet Fontanka reports.

People in uniform have also been noticed at Vasilyevsky Island — near the hotel and restaurant affiliated with Prigozhin.

“The fighting is ongoing, the military is giving false information to the fighters, which leads to clashes. In some places, soldiers, the National Guard and the police are happy to welcome us, saying ‘We want to come with you.’ About 60-70 men have joined us already, though we haven’t gone a long way. I think half the army is ready to come with us,” he said.

According to 161.ru, unknown men dressed in camouflage uniforms have surrounded the Russian Southern Military District headquarters, a police station, a Russian Interior Ministry main directorate, an FSB directorate, and the local administration of Rostov-on-Don.