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Since the early hours of Saturday, Moscow has been preparing for a possible arrival of the Wagner group in the city. It is now practically certain that the armed insurrection of mercenaries led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, which began in the southern city of Rostov on Don, is marching towards the Russian capital, although it is not entirely clear what intent the militiamen will have once they are there . Moscow is a gigantic city, with almost 12 million inhabitants, and it is not known whether the members of the Wagner group will have enough men and means to attack it militarily. Much will obviously depend on how much resistance the Russian security forces put up.
Also for this since Saturday morning the city has been preparing. The local government has raised the anti-terrorism alert level. It means, wrote the BBC, that the authorities may have particular powers including: restricting freedom of movement, controlling or monitoring communications, frisking people without the need for a warrant and evacuating the population if necessary. Some Russian media also claim that in the next few hours the government could declare some form of night curfew, or even martial law.
Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin wrote on Telegram that “the situation is serious” and announced a day off for Monday in all public offices. He also asked Muscovites to “avoid going around the city as much as possible”. The city government also closed early museums, shopping malls and other businesses.
Roads entering Moscow from the south, which are assumed to be used by the Wagner Group to reach the city, are being blocked and fortified. In others, checkpoints are being prepared. Russian newspaper Vedomosti published a photo on Saturday afternoon showing a group of soldiers and police preparing a barrier with sandbags and a machine gun in Yasenovo, south of Moscow.
armed soldiers (either National Guard or Interior Ministry) hoisting sandbags for a firing point at Yasenovo, in southern Moscow, on the MKAD ring road. (photo by @Vedomosti) pic.twitter.com/ugHjwlWjtI
— Mike Eckel (@Mike_Eckel) June 24, 2023
There are also photos of huge trucks loaded with sand, which according to various testimonies are ready to be placed in the middle of the Moscow ring road to block the passage of all vehicles.
A hundred Kamaz trucks are ready to block the Moscow Ring Road.
Russians are sharing videos of what is happening on the outskirts of Moscow in social networks. For example, on one of the sections of the highway, there is a roadblock with an APC, about 10 Kamaz trucks and… pic.twitter.com/cXd3HGKNrR
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) June 24, 2023
Moscow is a city structured on numerous concentric circles, and it is probable that its defense will be concentrated at the intersections between these circles and the roads leading towards the city center.