NATO 'monitoring the situation' in Russia
NATO is "monitoring the situation" in Russia, a spokeswoman for the transatlantic military alliance said via email on Saturday, Reuters reports.
The spokeswoman, Oana Lungescu, had no further comment.
A Russian security source told Reuters that Wagner fighters had also taken control of military facilities in the city of Voronezh, further north on the road towards Moscow. Reuters could not independently confirm the situation there.
In Moscow, there was an increased security presence on the streets. Red Square was blocked off by metal barriers. "Excessive ambitions and vested interests have led to treason," Putin said in a televised address, calling the mutiny a "stab in the back".
"It is a blow to Russia, to our people. And our actions to defend the Fatherland against such a threat will be harsh." "All those who deliberately stepped on the path of betrayal, who prepared an armed insurrection, who took the path of blackmail and terrorist methods, will suffer inevitable punishment, will answer both to the law and to our people," Putin said.
Prigozhin, a former convict and long-time ally of Putin, leads a private army that includes thousands of former prisoners recruited from Russian jails. His men took on the bloodiest fighting of the 16-month Ukraine war - a protracted battle for the eastern city of Bakhmut - and he has feuded for months with the regular army's top brass, accusing generals of incompetence and of withholding ammunition from his fighters.
