Security measures boosted in Moscow: Mayor
Moscow’s critical facilities have been under reinforced protection, and security measures in the capital have increased.
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Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, April 14, 2018. (Kremlin)
Moscow is witnessing anti-terrorist measures aimed at strengthening security and additional control has been introduced on the city roads, Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said.
"In connection with the received information, anti-terrorist measures are being taken in Moscow aimed at strengthening security. Additional control on the roads has been introduced. The holding of mass public events could be restricted. Please be considerate of the measures taken," Sobyanin added on Telegram on Saturday morning.
Both security and anti-terrorism measures have also been introduced in the Moscow Region, regional Governor Andrey Vorobyov said on Telegram on Saturday, adding that road checks were added to the southern direction.
Rostov regional Governor Vasily Golubev called on residents to avoid traveling to the center of Rostov-on-Don and to stay home if possible. Additionally, security measures have also been strengthened in Russia’s Lipetsk Region and residents have been asked to refrain from traveling in the southern direction.
On Saturday morning the Voronezh regional government said on Telegram that a military convoy was moving along the M-4 Don highway.
The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) opened a criminal case for inciting armed mutiny over statements on Friday made on behalf of the head of the Wagner Group private military company (PMC), Yevgeny Prigozhin.
On the same day, the Russian Defense Minister denied reports circulating on social media on behalf of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the private military company (PMC) Wagner, that the Russian Armed Forces struck the group's camps.
In a statement, the Ministry affirmed that "all messages and video footage that are being spread on social media on behalf of Y. Prigozhin that allege that the ‘Russian Defense Ministry delivered a strike on PMV Wagner encampments in the rear’ do not have a basis in reality and are a media provocation."
"Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue to carry out combat missions on the line of contact with the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the area of the special military operation," the statement confirmed.
The Russian Foreign Ministry's statement comes in response to a video circulating on social media that claimed to show the aftermath of an alleged "missile attack" that targeted a Wagner camp in a forest. "There are many dead. According to eyewitnesses, the strike came from behind, i.e. from the forces of the Russian Defense Ministry," the video claimed.
