Russia’s security agencies are examining potential involvement of Western intelligence services in the June 24 incidents, confirmed Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in a conversation with RT television on Monday.
While Lavrov’s ministry isn’t directly involved in detecting illegal activities, he assured that the relevant agencies are actively investigating any signs that Ukrainian or Western intelligence services may have played a role in the attempted armed uprising that took place on June 24.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner Private Military Company (PMC), made allegations on his Telegram channel on the night of June 23, accusing Russia’s top military command of involvement after Wagner units were reportedly attacked. However, the Defense Ministry dismissed this information as false. The Prigozhin-backed Wagner forces advanced towards Moscow via Rostov-on-Don, prompting the FSB (Russia’s Federal Security Service) to open a case related to calls for an armed insurrection.
In a televised address, Russian President Vladimir Putin denounced Wagner’s actions as treacherous. Subsequently, in a dialogue facilitated by Putin, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko conversed with Prigozhin. Post these talks, the Wagner troops ceased their activities and withdrew to their base camp.
In response to these events, a counter-terrorism regime was implemented in Moscow, the Moscow Region, and the Voronezh Region on June 24, marking a first for these regions.
As of Monday, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin announced that all restrictions placed on Moscow citizens due to the counter-terrorism operations have been lifted, with the same applying to the Moscow and Voronezh regions.
