June 24, 2023 - Wagner head says group standing down

Former Russian President and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who currently serves as the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, accused Wagner of a "staged coup d'état," Russian state media RIA Novosti reported on Saturday. 

RIA Novosti said that according to Medvedev, the participation of foreigners in the current military rebellion was "quite probable.” 

The state-owned outlet said that Medvedev also dismissed Prigozhin’s allegation that the Russian Defense Ministry had ordered strikes against his fighters at a Wagner camp on Friday.

Lt. Gen. Vladimir Alekseev, Russian intelligence official, has also criticized Prighozhin's actions as "a coup d'état." Prigozhin has claimed that his forces crossed the border into Russia from Ukraine but denies that he is carrying out a "military coup."

"This is not a military coup, this is a march of justice. Our actions do not interfere with the troops in any way," Prigozhin said in an audio recording posted to Telegram Friday.  

The Russian investigative outlet Fontanka on Saturday reported that a van stacked with boxes with cash was found parked near what is alleged to be an office of Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin at the Hotel Trezzini in St. Petersburg. 

According to Fontanka, the amount of cash uncovered in an apparent search by authorities totaled 4 billion rubles, or approximately $47 million.

Fontanka posted a photo on its Telegram channel of boxes on the ground next to a van watched over by a police officer. 

It is unclear who ordered the search, but Prigozhin confirmed media reports in an audio message on one of his Telegram channels, saying that money he kept in a van and two buses was allocated for salaries, as well as for the payment of so-called “Cargo 200” compensation for the families of slain fighters. 

Equipment of the Wagner private military company is moving across territory in the southern Russian region of Lipetsk, according to the region's governor, Igor Artamonov.

He said authorities are "taking all necessary measures to ensure the safety of the population," adding that "the situation is under control" and that "there are no failures in the operation of critical infrastructure."

Artamonov spoke as geolocated video emerged of a small group of military vehicles, including two tanks on flat-bed trailers, in the Lipetsk region.

An unidentified military column consisting of five vehicles was spotted about 400 kilometers (approximately 249 miles) away from Moscow, in the village of Krasnoye in the region, according to social media video shared by local blogs.

CNN was able to verify the location of the video. It shows vehicles driving along a local road next to the railway tracks.

There is no independent verification that the small convoy is affiliated with Wagner.

The local administration in the city of Lipetsk said that the entrances to the region's capital city are blockaded in two directions, according to Russian news agency RIA Novosti on Saturday afternoon.

Artamonov implied that roads had been dug up by Wagner fighters, saying, “Traffic has been suspended on part of regional roads. In a number of sections, the roadbed was deliberately damaged — dug up by excavators.”

He said repairs would begin as soon as possible.

Social media video purportedly from Lipetsk showed a deep trench being dug by a backhoe tractor across one highway.

Lipetsk is the main city in the region of the same name, and it is about 470 kilometers (292 miles) south of Moscow.

US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were briefed this morning on the latest developments in Russia and were joined by a number of national security officials, according to the White House.

"Participants included National Security Advisor Sullivan, Secretary Blinken, Secretary Austin, Chairman Milley, Director Haines, Director Burns, and Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield. The President and Vice President will continue to be briefed throughout the day," according to a White House statement.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin also continues to be briefed, Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said in a statement on Saturday.

“Secretary Austin and the Department continue to monitor the ongoing situation in Russia. Secretary Austin will continue to be briefed on any significant developments,” Ryder said.

Russian authorities have offered amnesty to Wagner mercenaries who agree to discard their arms, a lawmaker from the State Duma told Russian state media TASS on Saturday.

"Of course, there is a chance to lay down arms and avoid punishment, and the President also talked about this," the head of the State Duma Committee on State Construction, Pavel Krasheninnikov, told TASS. 

Krasheninnikov added that Putin "spoke in a comprehensive manner," and said that it's key that this information gets through to them.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin confirmed that a "counter-terrorist regime" has been declared in the city, according to a statement. 

According to Sobyanin, Moscow city services are on high alert.

Russian state media RIA Novosti reported Saturday that security measures are being strengthened at a number of places on the Moscow Ring Road. A checkpoint with a grenade launcher and an armored personnel carrier was installed at the exit from the Moscow Ring Road in the Yasenevo area and vehicles are being checked, according to RIA.

Earlier Saturday, the Russian National Anti-Terrorism Committee announced the introduction of a "counter-terrorist operation regime" in Moscow, as well as the Moscow region and Voronezh region.

The counter-terrorist regime includes, but is not limited to:

The latest Wagner movements: Equipment of the Wagner private military company is moving across territory in the southern Russian region of Lipetsk, according to the region's governor, Igor Artamonov.

Lipetsk is the main city in the region of the same name, and it is about 470 kilometers (292 miles) south of Moscow.

Ukraine claims it has taken back territory in the east that was held by Russia since it annexed Crimea in 2014. 

According to military officials in Tavria in southeastern Ukraine, Ukrainian forces have captured "territories near Krasnohorivka in Donetsk" and are continuing to advance, state media Ukrinform reports. 

Another Ukrainian official claimed that Russian forces had been pushed out of the area about a week ago, but the information was not made public for "tactical reasons." 

Ukrainian forces claim to have taken the area prior to the apparent Wagner insurrection but only announced it Saturday.

CNN cannot independently verify battlefield reports. 

In the years leading up to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a St. Petersburg-based businessman named Yevgeny Prigozhin emerged as a canny political entrepreneur.

Prigozhin and his companies served the interests of the Russian state, advancing Putin’s foreign policy in ways that were both useful and off the books.

Prigozhin’s relatively discreet public profile was his greatest asset. He bankrolled the notorious troll farm that the US government sanctioned for interference in the 2016 US presidential election; created a substantial mercenary force that played a key role in conflicts from Ukraine’s Donbas region to the Syrian civil war; and helped Moscow make a play for influence on the African continent.

All of Prigozhin’s activities gave the Kremlin a fig leaf of deniability. After all, mercenary activity was technically barred by Russian law, and Putin could always maintain that interference in US elections was merely the work of “patriotic” hackers.

And it also served Putin’s interest to outsource some of the dirty work of sponsoring armed insurrection in eastern Ukraine or holding territory in Syria. Wagner’s existence was not publicly acknowledged, and some of Prigozhin’s operations appeared to be partly self-funded, with various shell companies staking claims to oil and gas facilities and vying for access to gold and other riches.

But all of that changed with the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. By giving Prigozhin free rein to raise a private army, Putin both unleashed the political ambitions of the businessman and surrendered the state’s monopoly on the use of force.

Read the full analysis here.

Russian President Vladimir Putin faces increased rebellion by Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin after the mercenary leader rejected surrender, calling the president "deeply mistaken" for saying his actions betray Russia.

In southwestern Russian regions, officials have cautioned residents to stay in their homes amid reports of Wagner equipment moving through the territories.

Here's the latest: