prigozhin mercenary forces have pretty much taken over that every strategic town of rostov-on-don. i that s a very strategic part of this war. the russian mercenary groups have been launching offensive strikes in ukraine from there, so they ve been key to this battle. prigozhin says they have now taken that town completely. they are now firing eight shots, and what we re hearing now is that he s mercenary forces are moving north. possibly towards moscow, which is an incredibly significant development in what s happening in the last 24 hours, and the most curious challenge to the russian state in recent memory, now, prigozhin was saying that this wasn t a crew he was trying to get rid of the defense minister, shoigu, and the head of the armed forces, but this is a direct challenge to putin s authority when you re trying to remove his top military brass during a conflict with ukraine. what key right now, jonathan, is what happens over the coming hours. the loyalty of the rus
way towards the city. earlier today, that group seized control of military headquarters in a southern key russian city. they are now on a northern track towards the capital city of moscow. about halfway. this is also a view for you this morning, moscow s mayor, just moments ago, saying a counterterrorism operation declared in the city, in moscow. this is canceling the workday, it is asking people to stay home. obviously not a common situation or request. also new for you at 12 pm eastern in new york city, vladimir putin mobilizing troops in an address to the nation vowing to crush what he calls an armed rebellion. this rebellion led by the group s leader, yevgeny prigozhin. whose forces, up until the past couple of days, we re fighting alongside russia in ukraine. today, not that day. not that way. on friday, prove goshen accused the kremlin of invading ukraine on false pretenses. putin today vowing to punish anyone who takes up arms against a russian military. that s last 24
telling russians in an address that it appears to have been recorded before this weekend s rebellion, that he remains confident in his plans and ukraine. tomorrow has been declared a non-working day in moscow. but banks and russia s stock exchange will be operating as normal. outside of russia s borders, including in the u.s., putin s grip on power appears to be weekend, if not eroding. he s been very strong for three decades. this is the first time the veneer of instability, he just seems to be the strongman. now he is viewed as weak. this moment of weakness for putin, whether temporary or more permanent, may present a moment of opportunity for ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy and his military as they continue a counteroffensive against russia. britain s former army chief told sky news, mutiny is a moment of opportunity for ukraine. in washington, maine while, the white house says president biden reaffirmed his support for ukraine in a call with president zelensky
in africa and sub-saharan africa and its ability to generate wealth. how can we sustain that? does he still have access to that? what does it give him in russia? it s a really good question. does his use outweigh his threat to the russian president? molly mchugh, thank you, my friend. we have a lot more coming up, everybody. you re watching msnbc. our second hour starts right now. a, hey, everybody. welcome back. i am yasmin vossoughian. if you are just joining us, welcome. it s fantastic to see you. if you are sticking with us, we are thankful for that. we are continuing our coverage this hour with more fallout from the wagner group rebellion against russia. a deal was brokered between yevgeny prigozhin and the kremlin. it stopped mercenary troops in their tracks, averting an armed confrontation. so has the temperature come down in moscow today. how has this impacted putin s grip on power? i m going to ask in just a moment. meanwhile, back in this country, we have results
now. our second hour star welcome . i m yasmin vossoughian, if you just running, as welcome. if you re sticking with, us we re thankful for that. we have got a lot of developments in russia, as the head of the wagner group, yevgeny prigozhin, says his mercenary group is turning back and abandoning s march towards moscow. he made that announcement after the president of belarus claimed he held talks with prigozhin. i want to bring in nbc s met in standing back and trying. this math, you heard this thing firsthand. talk us through what you heard from prigozhin, the revelation of this, quote unquote, deal. thank you, yasmin. obviously, very shocking development, after what has been, as we ve discussed, very astonishing 24 hours in russia. we had another audio message from prigozhin. he speaks very intensely, always, part of his charm, for lack of better word. we saw that again in this latest message, also a little bit taking a step back. he s admitting that he stepping down