President Biden and Vice President Harris were briefed by their national security team this morning about the latest developments in Russia, the White House confirmed. Evgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner Group private militia has been accused by the Russian government of staging a coup.
The charges against Prigozhin were brought late Friday night after he accused Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu and General Valery Gerasimov, the chair of the Russian general staff, of serious crimes.
“This is a stab in the back to our country and our people,” said President Putin in a televised speech.
At the White House, National Security Advisor Sullivan, Secretary Blinken, Secretary Austin, Chairman Milley, Director Haines, Director Burns, and Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield took part in the briefing. The President and Vice President will continue to be briefed throughout the day.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin confirmed that a “counter-terrorist operation” has been started in the city, according to a statement. Monday has been proclaimed a non working day to “minimize risks” in the capital.
“The situation is difficult. In order to minimize risks, I, within the framework of the operational headquarters, decided to declare Monday a non-working day – with the exception of authorities and enterprises of a continuous cycle, the military-industrial complex, and city services,” Sobyanin stated on Telegram. “I ask you to refrain from traveling around the city as much as possible. It is possible that traffic will be blocked in certain areas and on certain roads.”
“Russia’s weakness is obvious. Full-scale weakness,” Zelensky stated on Twitter.. “And the longer Russia keeps its troops and mercenaries on our land, the more chaos, pain, and problems it will have for itself later.”
