Roads being blocked in Moscow Oblast

Iryna Balachuk — Saturday, 24 June 2023, 11:58

SCREENSHOT FROM GOOGLE.MAPS

A bridge across the Oka River on the Simferopol Road near the town of Serpukhov in Moscow Oblast has been blocked, and people are asked to refrain from travelling.

Source: regional branch of the Russian Ministry of Transport in Moscow Oblast, on Telegram

Quote: "Please note that the bridge over the Oka River on the Simferopol Road near Serpukhov is blocked."

Details: The agency also urged residents to avoid travelling on the M-4 Don and M-2 Crimea Roads on 24 June.

Serpukhov and blocked bridge on the Simferopol Road
screenshot from GOOGLE.MAPS

Moscow Region Governor Alexei Vorobyov has urged residents to be understanding of the inconveniences caused by the counterterrorism operation in the region.

Background:

Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed that the regular Russian army had launched a missile strike on the Wagnerites’ rear camps. Prigozhin claimed that Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu had arrived in Rostov, where he personally conducted an operation to wipe out the mercenaries.
Prigozhin's 25,000 mercenaries are allegedly going to "restore justice". At the same time, he asked not to call this action a "military coup". Prigozhin added that Shoigu had fled Rostov like a coward and "this creature will be stopped". The Russian Defence Ministry called the information a provocation.
Photos and videos of armoured vehicles on the streets of the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don are being posted on Russian social media following Prigozhin’s statement about a de facto declaration of war against the Russian army. Checkpoints have been set up at entrances to Moscow.
Prigozhin claimed that his mercenaries had shot down four Russian army helicopters; later, many Telegram channels in Ukraine and Russia reported that an An-26, a Russian Defence Ministry transport aircraft , has been downed.
On the morning of 24 June, the headquarters of the Southern Military District in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don was surrounded by tanks and people in military uniforms, although at the moment, it is not known whether these were Russian army personnel or mercenaries from the Wagner PMC.
In an emergency address, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia is "fighting for survival" and Prigozhin’s mercenaries are trying to "organise a rebellion" in the country.
On 24 June, Sergey Sobianin, the mayor of Moscow, announced that a counter-terrorism operation (CTO) had been introduced in the capital.
On the morning of 24 June, Putin called Alexander Lukashenko, the self-proclaimed president of Belarus, and told him what was happening in Russia.