West reacts to the escalation of the situation in the Russian Federation. Britain: The Russian state is facing its biggest challenge ever
The British Ministry of Defense said on Saturday that the Russian state is facing its biggest security challenge in recent times, following what appears to be a movement of forces of the Wagner Group towards Moscow, reports Reuters, quoted by Rador.
"In the coming hours, the loyalty of Russia's security forces, and in particular the Russian National Guard, will be key to how this crisis plays out. This represents the most significant challenge to the Russian state in recent times," the UK Ministry of Defense said in a regular intelligence update.
At the same time, the government of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has announced that it is closely monitoring the situation in Russia, a spokesman for the government's press office said on Saturday. "We are closely monitoring events in Russia," the spokesman said.
At the same time, the French presidential palace announced that the French president, Emmanuel Macron, is closely following the situation in Russia. "We remain focused on our support for Ukraine," the Élysée Palace said.
And Poland is monitoring the situation in Russia. President Andrzej Duda announced that he had consultations with the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Defense about the situation in Russia, he announced on Saturday, adding that Warsaw was monitoring the situation, Reuters reports.
"Regarding the situation in Russia, this week I had consultations with the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Defense," Andrzej Duda tweeted. "The course of events beyond our eastern border is being monitored as they unfold," he said.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner paramilitary group, said on Saturday he had entered Russia with his troops to overthrow the military leadership, saying he was "ready to die" with his 25,000 men to "liberate the Russian people".
Russia's general prosecutor's office announced the opening of an "armed sedition" investigation against Prigozhin, who went on the rampage after accusing the military of bombing his men.
Authorities have tightened security measures in Moscow and several other regions of Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared on Russian television on Saturday morning and accused the Wagner Group of treason, saying that all those involved in this military coup would be punished.
