Russia tightens security in regions between Moscow and Rostov amid mercenary mutiny

Security in a number of Russian regions is tightened as authorities seek to thwart an armed rebellion spearheaded by mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin.

There is tighter security particularly in areas between the southern city of Rostov-on-Don, where Prigozhin’s Wagner group appears to control military headquarters, and Moscow.

The governor of the Lipetsk region asked residents to stay at home and refrain from traveling. Governor Igor Artamonov said on Telegram that Wagner had entered the province but “the situation is under control.”

In the neighboring Tambov region, mass events are canceled today.

Those events include high school graduation parties. Russia’s Education Ministry says such parties are being postponed until July 1 in Moscow, the region around the capital and “a number of other regions where additional anti-terrorist measures have been introduced.”

In the capital, traffic on the Moscow River is suspended. Police officers in bulletproof vests and with machine guns are seen near the entrance of the major highway that links Moscow with Voronezh and Rostov–on-Don.