Russia is at the epicenter of an intriguing wave of political events, which has now turned into an attempted coup d’état, prompted by mercenaries of the Wagner paramilitary group, who are marching towards Moscow. Meanwhile, Kremlin officials, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, are being evacuated to other regions of Russia, according to the British press.
After the departure of one of the Russian presidency’s planes from Moscow to the north, likely in the direction of St. Petersburg, there are many speculations arising about the reasons for President Putin’s departure.
At the same time, reports began circulating that the Wagner force had entered the Lipetsk region, located near the capital, creating the sensation that an attempted coup d’état was about to take place.
BREAKING:
Putin’s plane has left Moscow for St. Petersburg.
Looks like he is fleeing from the advancing Wagner Group military column pic.twitter.com/g1dORr9BDb
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) June 24, 2023
The flight tracking platform FligthRadar24 registered the subsequent takeoff of other Kremlin-associated planes, like a Tupolev 214 and an Ilyushin IL-76, which were quickly followed by tens of thousands of people. For security reasons, the occupants of the flights were not informed by the Russian government.
However, the Kremlin assured that Putin was still working in Moscow, stating that all measures are being taken for the good of the nation. The scant information, however, continues to leave people insecure and worried about what the upcoming events may mean.
Wagner maintains that the “civil war officially began” when the mercenary leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, claimed that Russian soldiers were “using planes and helicopters to bomb columns where there are civilians” in their attempts to attack his men. Because of this, he promised reprisals.
#Prigozhin is en route to Moscow via Voronezh and Lipetsk.
The real coup will have to take place in Moscow if Prigozhin really seeks to overtake the central command & control in the Kremlin. And he cannot enter Moscow without an inter-circle putsch of Putin’s closest circle. pic.twitter.com/4godCOr3iM
— Velina Tchakarova (@vtchakarova) June 24, 2023
