June 23, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

Our live coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine has moved here.

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said Saturday his units were hit by a helicopter on a highway and threatened to “destroy everything” in his way, in an audio message posted on his Telegram channel.

It’s unclear exactly where the units were.

CNN is unable to verify these claims and any video evidence of this.

Prigozhin also said his units are “ready to die.” 

This comes as Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Saturday in a Telegram post that “in connection with the incoming information, antiterrorist measures are being taken in Moscow aimed at strengthening security measures.” 

“Additional control on the roads has been introduced. Limitations on holding the public events are possible,” Sobyanin added. 

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin says that “anti-terrorist measures” are being carried out in the city as a result of “incoming information,” according to an update on his Telegram group.

The measures include “additional control on the roads” and “limitations on holding public events.”

At least two people were killed and eight others injured when debris hit a tall building in Kyiv’s central Solomyanskyi district, a Ukrainian military official said.

Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv region military administration, said the debris hit a 24-story building. Previously, the Kyiv mayor reported it was 16 stories.

The Kyiv city military administration says air defense systems destroyed more than 20 missiles in airspace around Kyiv overnight.

Videos posted to social media purport to show military helicopters flying over the Russian city of Rostov and a number of armored vehicles on city streets on Saturday morning.

The videos have been geolocated by CNN to Teatral’nyy Prospekt, in Rostov.

It is currently unclear whose command these vehicles are under the control of. Rostov region Governor Vasily Golubev asked residents on Saturday morning to stay calm and not leave their homes. 

Rostov is in Russia’s south, near to the border with southeastern Ukraine, and about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from Moscow.

Various police on duty near presidential administration as the road is being cordoned off in Moscow, Russia, on June 24, 2023.

Tensions between Yevgeny Prigozhin and the Russian defense ministry are finally coming to a head, with the Wagner leader threatening to attack Russian troops in retaliation for what he says was a deadly strike against his own paramilitary forces.

In extraordinary developments, the Russian security services accused Prigozhin of launching a coup attempt and have launched a criminal prosecution which could eventually see him jailed in what would be a dramatic fall from grace for one of Russia’s most prominent and outspoken figures.

For months, Prigozhin has been lambasting Russia’s High Command for mishandling the Ukraine war, repeatedly accusing the defense minister and the country’s military chief of incompetence.

Earlier this month, the Kremlin demanded all Russian mercenaries sign contracts with the Russian defense ministry, in a move seen as an attempt to control Wagner.

But Prigozhin remained defiant, refusing to comply and voicing increasingly vitriolic tirades against the Russian military hierarchy.

In the hours before the alleged attack on the Wagner camp, Prigozhin posted more inflammatory comments on social media, accusing the defense ministry of deceiving Russian President Vladimir Putin about the threat posed by Ukraine ahead of his February 2022 invasion. He also questioned Russian motives for the war.

Now, Moscow has been placed on alert in a response to Prigozhin’s call for a “march for justice” against defense officials he says are responsible for attacking Wagner, while his mercenary forces are said to be entering the southern Russian region of Rostov.

CNN cannot independently verify the claims.

Meanwhile, next door in Ukraine, defense officials say they are watching closely as Russia seems to plunge into turmoil.

Military vehicles seen in Russia's Rostov as security is tightened over Wagner 'coup' on June 24, 2023.

A Russian state media correspondent said the situation is calm in the southern city of Rostov on Don and a street closure is only partial.

The eye-witness account comes after Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said his fighters were entering the Russian Rostov region, which neighbors Ukraine. Prigozhin earlier threatened to retaliate against Russia’s military after accusing the leadership of killing his men in a strike on a camp.

According to the RIA Novosti correspondent, traffic is blocked on one side of Budennovsky Avenue, as well as on part of Pushkinskaya Street.

In that area, there is one armored personnel carrier, one Patrol-A armored car, one Tigr-M armored off-road vehicle, and several fighters with machine guns, the reporter said.

Traffic is generally normal, and a few people are on the streets.

Rostov region Governor Vasily Golubev is asking residents to stay calm and to not leave their homes.

The warnings come after Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said his fighters were entering the Russian Rostov region, which neighbors Ukraine. Prigozhin earlier vowed retaliation after accusing Russia’s defense ministry of killing a “huge amount” of his mercenaries in a strike on a camp.

A local journalist said the streets appear calm in Moscow, but that there is heightened security at government agencies.

Russian journalist Vasily Polonsky told CNN people in Moscow do not appear to be afraid at all, but he heard people talking about Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin as they walk down the streets. On Friday night, he saw people out playing music, drinking and partying. He didn’t see authorities asking people to leave the streets.

But Polonsky said military equipment is visible in central Moscow and there is some equipment behind the main building of the Ministry of Interior. He said he walked to most buildings of the government agencies and spotted at least one or two police cars next to each one. The most guarded building appeared to be the Ministry of the Interior. 

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the owner of the Wagner Group military company, arrives during a funeral ceremony at the Troyekurovskoye cemetery in Moscow, Russia, on April 8, 2023.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Russian private military group Wagner, on Friday accused Russia’s military leadership of killing a “huge amount” of his mercenary forces in a strike on a camp.

And he vowed to retaliate. “Many dozens, tens of thousands of lives, of Russian soldiers will be punished,” Prigozhin said. “I ask that nobody put up any resistance.”

In a later Telegram post, Prigozhin said that his criticism of the military leadership was a “march of justice” and not a coup. 

His comments prompted Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) to launch a criminal case, accusing the mercenary force’s chief of calling for “armed rebellion,” the state news agency TASS reported.

Here’s the latest on the situation unfolding in Russia:

Nations monitor the infighting in Russia: President Vladimir Putin is aware “of the situation unfolding around Prigozhin,” Russian state media TASS said Friday, as well as the investigation into his comments. In Ukraine, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the country’s presidential administration, tweeted “tumultuous times are coming,” while Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense concisely tweeted: “We are watching.” In the US, the White House said it was “monitoring the situation and will be consulting with allies and partners on these developments,” according to Adam Hodge, National Security Council spokesperson.

Russian officials urge Wagner fighters to detain their leader: The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) urged Wagner Group fighters not to follow Prigozhin’s orders and implored fighters to take measures to detain him. Similarly, Sergey Surovikin, Russia’s top commander in Ukraine, urged the mercenary fighters to “stop” and to “obey the will” of President Putin. “We are of the same blood. We are warriors. I urge you to stop, the enemy is only waiting for the internal political situation to worsen in our country,” Surovikin was seen saying in a video posted to Telegram by a Russian state media reporter.

Russia takes steps to control the narrative: State news TV channel Russia 24 interrupted the broadcast of a program Friday night to read out a message from the Russian Ministry of Defense, stating the claims made by the Wagner mercenary group leader “do not correspond to reality.” This statement has been widespread throughout Russia, even appearing on Telegram in a message from the defense ministry.

Russia steps up security: In the Russian city of Rostov near southeast Ukraine, military vehicles could be seen driving the streets. Posts were organized on Saturday in the area of ​​the headquarters of the Southern Military District in Rostov where military personnel and law enforcement officers are keeping order, a TASS correspondent reported. The preparations were taking place as Prigozhin said his fighters were entering the Rostov region. In Moscow, security measures were also visible, according to TASS.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the chief of the private military group Wagner, said a helicopter fired at a civilian column and was downed by his forces.

Prigozhin did not give any further details. The claim is one of many accusations made by the Wagner boss.

The mercenary group leader, who was accused Friday by Moscow of calling for “armed rebellion,” said earlier that his forces were entering the Rostov region, which is close to the Ukraine border.

CNN can not verify Prigozhin’s claim of an attack on civilians or that his fighters downed a helicopter.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said there were explosions early Saturday in Kyiv’s central Solomyanskyi district. 

The Kyiv City Military Administration said on Telegram that air sirens had been sounded.

US officials determined as early as January that there was an internal power struggle underway between the mercenary Wagner Group and the Russian government, and have been gathering and closely monitoring intelligence on the volatile dynamic ever since.

As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine stalled earlier this year, top American officials said they saw indications of tension between the Kremlin and the Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin. They said they believed those tensions would mount over the coming months.

Officials said their assessments of the situation derived from intelligence, an indication of how seriously the White House and Pentagon took the potential for a power struggle to cause further instability in the ongoing conflict.

In January, a top White House official said Wagner was becoming a “rival power center to the Russian military and other Russian militaries.”

Officials suggested at the time that Prigozhin was working to advance his own interests in Ukraine instead of the broader Russian objectives. 

The Wagner Group, which the West claimed had recruited prison convicts for fighting in Ukraine, was making decisions based on “what they will generate for Prigozhin, in terms of positive publicity,” John Kirby, the National Security Council spokesman, said in January.

Since then, White House and other US national security aides have been highly attuned to what one official said was an “ongoing battle” between Prigozhin and the Russian defense ministry. 

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the bombastic chief of Russia’s private mercenary group Wagner, appears to be falling out of favor fast in Moscow, after he unleashed a tirade against the Russian military on Friday and vowed to retaliate against its leaders.

Russia’s domestic intelligence service, the FSB, has opened a criminal case against Prigozhin, accusing him of “calling for an armed rebellion.” It also urged his own mercenaries to detain him.

Here’s what you need to know:

What did he do? Prigozhin on Friday accused Russia’s military of attacking a Wagner camp and killing a “huge amount” of his men. He vowed to retaliate with force, insinuating that his forces would “destroy” any resistance, including roadblocks and aircraft.

Prigozhin later rowed back on his threat, saying his criticism of the Russian military leadership was a “march of justice” and not a coup – but by that point he appears to have already crossed a line with the Kremlin.

Late on Friday, Prigozhin said his fighters had entered Russia’s Rostov region.

What Russia’s saying. Russia’s defense ministry has denied attacking Wagner troops, calling the claim “informational propaganda.” And the FSB also opened a criminal case against Prigozhin for his threats, accusing him of calling for “an armed rebellion.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin is aware of the situation, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Russian officials meanwhile appeared to take no chances with security measures stepping up in Moscow, according to Russian state media TASS. Social media posts showed military vehicles were seen driving around the main streets of the Russian capital in the early hours of Saturday.

Read more:

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the chief of the private military group Wagner, accused the Russian military’s chief of staff Valery Gerasimov of ordering an aerial attack “in the middle of civilian cars.” 

Prigozhin praised the Russian pilots for “refusing to carry out these criminal orders.”

CNN cannot confirm Prigozhin’s account of an aerial attack. He had earlier said his forces had entered the Russian Rostov region, which borders Ukraine.

The Russian defense ministry has not yet commented.

Russia's General Prosecutor Igor Krasnov attends a meeting with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Russia, on January 31, 2023.

Russian Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov made a report to President Vladimir Putin about initiating a criminal case against Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.

According to him, the Prosecutor General also informed the president on the legality of initiating such a criminal case.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the chief of the private military group Wagner, said his fighters are entering the Russian Rostov region, which neighbors Ukraine.

“Now we are entering Rostov. The units of the Ministry of Defense, or rather the conscripts, who were thrown to block our road, stepped aside,” Prigozhin said, adding that at the moment his units “have crossed the state border in all places.”

Prigozhin also accused Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov of “making a decision to destroy the disobedient units (of Wagner PMC) that are ready to protect their Motherland.” 

Prigozhin warned against anyone obstructing him: “We will destroy everything that gets in our way,” he said.

The Wagner chief’s statement comes as Russian state media TASS reported a stepped-up police presence in Rostov late Friday.

CNN cannot independently verify these claims.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said early Saturday that Kyiv is concentrating several brigades for an offensive in the Bakhmut direction, taking advantage of Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s “provocation.” 

Russia says its forces are fighting back.

Security measures have been stepped up in Moscow on Friday following explosive comments from Wagner private military leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, according to Russian state media TASS. 

According to law enforcement, the Special Purpose Police Unit and Special Rapid Response Unit of the Russian Guard were raised on alarm as well, TASS reported. 

Russia’s FSB said it was investigating Prigozhin for “armed rebellion” after he vowed retaliation after accusing the Russian military of bombing his mercenary camp.

Commander of Russia's Aerospace Forces Sergei Surovikin attends a meeting with President Vladimir Putin in Sochi, Russia, on November 3, 2021.

Sergey Surovikin, Russia’s top commander in Ukraine, urged Wagner mercenary fighters on Friday evening to “stop” and to “obey the will” of President Vladimir Putin. 

“I’m addressing the leadership, commanders and fighters of Wagner. Together with you, we have traveled a difficult and hard path. We fought together, took risks, suffered losses and we won together. We are of the same blood. We are warriors. I urge you to stop, the enemy is only waiting for the internal political situation to worsen in our country,” Surovikin is seen saying in a video posted to Telegram by a Russian state media reporter.

Lt. Gen. Vladimir Alekseev, a Russian intelligence official, also posted a video criticizing Wagner’s actions on Friday, saying “This is a coup d’etat.” 

“Our country is in the most difficult position right now,” he continued. “When the whole Western world is turned against us. When the shells are coming from the whole world. Such things, that you started to fulfill now under someone’s provocation idea will lead to enormous losses. First of all, enormous political losses. Imagine the enthusiasm that this will be taken with by the West.” 

“Only the president has the right to appoint the top leadership of the armed forces, and you are trying to encroach on his authority. This is a coup d’etat. There is no need to do this now, because there is no greater damage to the image of Russia and to its armed forces,” Alekseev said.