At 10 am Moscow time, Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the nation, saying that Russia’s authorities will not allow the country to be split, and will protect its people.
He added that those who “took the path of insurrection and terrorist methods, will suffer inevitable punishment.”
The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has opened a criminal case on the fact of calling for an "armed rebellion" over statements made on behalf of Prigozhin, the National Antiterrorism Committee (NAC) said.
The FSB has called on private military company (PMC) Wagner troops to disobey Prigozhin's "criminal and treacherous orders", and take measures to detain him instead.
The Kremlin also confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to work at the Kremlin. aware of the situation around Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner group.
Who is Prigozhin?
The Wagner Group and Russian Army forces jointly participated in the battle of Artemovsk, also known as Bakhmut. This joint operation resulted in the liberation of the Donbass city in late May, following eight months of intense fighting. The battle had significant implications as it pinned down large concentrations of Ukrainian troops, allowed Russia to train its mobilized reserves, and dealt a major blow to Kiev's offensive plans.
Earlier on Friday, footage and audio attributed to the Wagner Group and Prigozhin surfaced on social media, accusing the Russian military of launching a "missile strike" on their camp. The voice attributed to Prigozhin appeared to call for the ouster of the Russian Army leadership.
The footage and audio were quickly picked up by Ukrainian and US state-funded media outlets that have been reporting extensively on Prigozhin's criticism of Russian generals in recent weeks.
