12:36 p.m. ET, June 24, 2023
The governor of southwest Russia’s Lipetsk region said Wagner is moving through the territory
By Darya Tarasova and Tim Lister of CNN
According to the governor of the region, Igor Artamonov, equipment of the private military company Wagner is transported through the territory of the southern Russian Lipetsk region.
He said the authorities are “taking all necessary measures to ensure the safety of the population”, adding that “the situation is under control” and that “there are no failures in the operation of critical infrastructure”.
“Since the night we have been in the operational center with the team and representatives of all departments,” said Artamonov. “We are in contact with all district and department heads.” All work well and smoothly. … Residents are strongly advised not to leave their homes and not to use any means of transport. I understand the inconvenience, but I urge you to help us and follow these recommendations.”
Artamonov was speaking as geolocated video of a small group of military vehicles, including two tanks on flatbed trailers, emerged in the Lipetsk region.
According to a social media video shared by local blogs, an unidentified military column of five vehicles was sighted about 400 kilometers (about 249 miles) from Moscow in the village of Krasnoye in the region.
CNN was able to verify the location of the video. It shows vehicles driving on a local road alongside the train tracks.
“Look, these are Wagner fighters, I saw them walking around, they went into a store and they’re walking around,” says a man in the video.
There is no independent confirmation that the small convoy is linked to Wagner.
The local administration of the city of Lipetsk said on Saturday afternoon that the entrances to the capital of the region were blocked in two directions, the Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported on Saturday afternoon.
Artamonov implied that Wagner fighters had torn up roads and said: “Traffic has been halted on part of the regional roads. In several sections, the roadbed was intentionally damaged – dug up by excavators.”
He said repairs would begin as soon as possible.
A social media video purportedly from Lipetsk showed a deep trench being dug across a highway by a backhoe.
Lipetsk is the capital of the region of the same name and is located about 470 kilometers south of Moscow.