Moscow’s Mayor, Sergey Sobyanin, has told residents in the capital city that Monday would be a free working day – except for core service, security services and the military, following the armed uprising by Russia’s Wagner paramilitary fighters.
Mr Sobyanin, in a statement on Saturday, said residents should refrain from unnecessary travel around the city, urging them to report emergencies to the emergency services hotline (112 in Russia) as quickly as possible.
“In order to minimise risks, I, within the framework of the operational headquarters, decided to declare Monday a non-working day,” he said on the Telegram website.
With more than 13 million inhabitants in the metropolis, traffic checks had already been introduced on the streets and increased.
During the night, military vehicles were also on the road in the city centre with security tightened.
Also, authorities in Moscow and the surrounding area have declared a “counterterrorism” state of emergency to prevent possible attacks in the capital city by Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.
“In order to prevent possible terrorist attacks in the city and Moscow region, a regime of counterterrorism operations has been established,” Russia’s national anti-terrorism committee announced on Saturday.
The Voronezh region in southwestern Russia, which borders Ukraine, also declared this type of state of emergency.
The counterterrorism state of emergency allows the Russian authorities to increase controls and facilitate the arrest of citizens.
The latest came as Wagner troops reportedly entered the Lipetsk region – which is some 300 kilometres south of Moscow.
Although, Vladimir Putin’s forces are already preparing for war as they build outposts and military vehicles flood the streets ahead of the expected arrival of Russia’s Wagner militia forces within hours.
A number of restrictions have now been introduced around the Russian capital following a decree from the governor.
Earlier on Saturday, Mr Putin addressed the Russian people, warning that the military leader had ‘stabbed him in the back’, as Moscow entered into a lockdown with troops digging in preparation to defend the city.
A spokesperson for the Russian president said Mr Putin was “still at work” in the Kremlin and had not fled Moscow.
