state against this threat will be harsh. this was the scene in rostov earlier this morning where wagner forces apparently surrounded a military building. in a video released by wagner — yevgeny prigozhin is heard telling russian military officials he wants to speak to the defence minister — or they'll move towards moscow. president vladimir putin has said that russia is facing an armed mutiny. it follows a major challenge from the head of the wagner mercenary group. mr putin warned of a harsh response to threats including what he called blackmail and terrorist methods. he admitted that russian forces were not in control of the key city of rostov on don.

but first, what's led up to this? tanks and armoured vehicles have taken up positions in the southern russian city of rostov—on—don, as a dispute between the army and the wagner mercenary group threatens to degenerate into fighting. wagner troops also appear to be taking action in the voronezh region, which lies half way between rostov and moscow. a wagner military force has been seen passing the city heading to moscow. and an arms dump there, has been set on fire. bbc verified has been able to locate this as being in voronezh. you see the helicopter flying over the urban area and the blast, which we believe to be an oil depot.

our security correspondent gordon corera has this round up of the latest. mercenaries belonging to wagner, now appear to have seized control of the city of rostov on don. residents have been told to stay indoors. one took these pictures which have been confirmed by bbc verified. the head of the wagner group, yevgeny prigozhin, posted a video set to be from this morning, in which he appears to be outside the city's military headquarters, saying he has also taken control of the local airfield. and in another video, also taken control of the local airfield. and in anothervideo, he appears arguing with two officials, one, the deputy defence minister. he demands to see the heads of the russian military, with whom he has been engaging in a bitter public feud, claiming they are responsible for the death of many of his men in ukraine. , , ., , for the death of many of his men in ukraine. , , . , , u, , ukraine. the guys are dying because ou are ukraine. the guys are dying because you are pushing _ ukraine. the guys are dying because you are pushing them _ ukraine. the guys are dying because you are pushing them into _ ukraine. the guys are dying because you are pushing them into a - ukraine. the guys are dying because you are pushing them into a meat i you are pushing them into a meat grinder. _ you are pushing them into a meat grinder, without munitions, without thoughts, _ grinder, without munitions, without thoughts, without a plan. you are

ageing _ thoughts, without a plan. you are ageing clowns. thoughts, without a plan. you are ageing downe— thoughts, without a plan. you are ageing clowns. once again, we came here and we — ageing clowns. once again, we came here and we want _ ageing clowns. once again, we came here and we want to _ ageing clowns. once again, we came here and we want to see _ ageing clowns. once again, we came here and we want to see the - ageing clowns. once again, we came here and we want to see the chief. ageing clowns. once again, we came here and we want to see the chief of| here and we want to see the chief of staff and the russian defence minister. ~ , minister. we will stay, we will block the _ minister. we will stay, we will block the city _ minister. we will stay, we will block the city of _ minister. we will stay, we will block the city of rostov - minister. we will stay, we will block the city of rostov and i minister. we will stay, we will| block the city of rostov and go towards — block the city of rostov and go towards moscow. in block the city of rostov and go towards moscow.— block the city of rostov and go towards moscow. ~ ., , . ., , , ., towards moscow. in moscow, signs of how seriously — towards moscow. in moscow, signs of how seriously this _ towards moscow. in moscow, signs of how seriously this was _ towards moscow. in moscow, signs of how seriously this was being - towards moscow. in moscow, signs of how seriously this was being taken, i how seriously this was being taken, with new anti—terrorist measures being introduced in the capital. this morning, a visibly angry vladimir putin was forced to appear on tv to speak to the russian people. translation: any internal mutiny is a serious threat i to our state, our nation, it is a blow to russia, a blow to our people and our actions to defend the state against this threat will be harsh. who is yevgeny prigozhin? after time injail, he went into who is yevgeny prigozhin? after time in jail, he went into the catering business, capturing the eye of russia's leader. that led to him

becoming known as putin's chef, lucrative military contracts followed. linked to interference in america's 2016 election, he became best known as head of the wagner group, a private military force, acting for the russian state. it fought in africa and syria. it grew increasingly prominent and important, following last year's invasion of ukraine. yevgeny prigozhin recruited prisoners to fight in the war, but he became increasingly angry with moscow's military leadership, saying they were using his men as cannon fodder and failing to provide ammunition and failing to provide ammunition and support. in recent weeks is video messages became increasingly angry. there was a sense that a crisis was coming to a head. pictures verified by the bbc show

smoke rising close to the city of voronezh. bbc news russian sources says wagner fighters have taken control of military fighters in that city, which lies on the road to moscow. with wagner forces city, which lies on the road to moscow. with wagnerforces in control of rostov and apparently on the move, there had been reports, unconfirmed, of air strikes. the move, there had been reports, unconfirmed, ofairstrikes. forthe moment it is unclear how this crisis will be resolved, and with what level of violence. live now to our correspondent andrew harding who's in the donbas region of ukraine.... thank you forjoining us. i want to pick up some of the reporting is shared with the readers on the life page. you have been speaking to ukrainian army medics who have been working on the front line. tell us more about the on the ground ukrainian reaction? this more about the on the ground ukrainian reaction? this morning we were out early _ ukrainian reaction? this morning we

were out early on _ ukrainian reaction? this morning we were out early on the _ ukrainian reaction? this morning we were out early on the front - ukrainian reaction? this morning we were out early on the front lines - were out early on the front lines near bakhmut, the city that has been so pulverised by the russians who now occupy the city. the ukrainians are now launching phase counter attacks and we are just back from those front lines, with some ukrainian medics. everybody had heard the news from russia, everybody who is not directly involved in the fighting has been consuming, devouring this news, of the chaos in their enemy camp, and many people are delighted, but also quite cautious. one young, russian medic said that if there is a revolution in moscow, i am going to get very drunk. he said that with a big grin, but his boss that it is way too early for that, i think we need to be cautious. this could help us, but the fact is that there is furious fighting going on, ukrainians taking heavy casualties, we saw two and herd of seven more casualties just an hour or two we were there. russians also taking heavy casualties. clearly this has happened at an opportune time for

the ukrainians. they havejust started this counteroffensive, but they haven't got anywhere close to top gear. if their enemy is divided, and presumably quite demoralised by what is going on back in russia, that can only help the ukrainians. i also heard expressions of real concern from people who say that if the kremlin is cornered or divided, then who knows what could happen pull. perhaps they could try and trigger some kind of nuclear accident in ukrainian occupied territory. there is a power plant there, so there is a sense that anything could happen, that same jittery feeling many russians are also feeling right now.— jittery feeling many russians are also feeling right now. while you are talking _ also feeling right now. while you are talking to _ also feeling right now. while you are talking to us _ also feeling right now. while you are talking to us from _ also feeling right now. while you are talking to us from donbas, . also feeling right now. while you l are talking to us from donbas, we are talking to us from donbas, we are receiving via reuters news agency, quotes from a russian spy chief, saying that it it's clear that the attempt to divide society, to spark a civil war in russia, has failed. he's been quoted by a news agency. from ukrainian perspective, how do they try to leverage these

events today? the reality is, preceding the last 48 hours, russia has had months to install tank traps, install thousands of landmines, to dig trenches, to dig in and prevent and try to fight back against this ongoing counteroffensive. while there might be political disunity, there is also a very tough opponent still facing the ukrainians?— a very tough opponent still facing the ukrainians? exactly, and unless there is some _ the ukrainians? exactly, and unless there is some dramatic _ the ukrainians? exactly, and unlessl there is some dramatic breakthrough i think a lot of people are expecting a long and very slow and very difficult slog, as they tried to push the russians back. having said that, we keep being told by the ukrainians that it is early days. the fact that it is not going fast is to be expected. perhaps we had hoped for better, but the fact is we know that the bulk of the reserves, the trained reserves, with their western weapons, have not been brought into the front lines. presumably, as we understand it

right now, the ukrainians are looking around tactically, trying to work out exactly where they need to bring the most force to bear. we certainly heard from yevgeny bogosian, wagner, and others, on the divided russian side, that the ukrainians are doing pretty well, perhaps better than either side is admitting. at the moment it is still admitting. at the moment it is still a very slow and difficult slog. andrew harding joining us live from ukraine, thank you so much. want to bring our view is a bit more on the comments from the head of russia's foreign intelligence service. he was being quoted by the news agency, saying that it is clear, in his words, what he called an attempt to destabilise society and ignite a civil war had failed. he was referring to those events being carried out by the wagner mercenary group and its chief, yevgeny prigozhin. live on your screen as images of moscow. throughout the last few hours we have seen traffic,

buses, cars going about their daly business. you can see them just there coming to the images from moscow. we have heard from the spokesperson for vladimir putin that vladimir putin is working on the kremlin. they will be some questions as to where he was, but, the nation that he is in the kremlin. our russia editor, steve rosenberg, is in moscow — he detailed the timeline of events over the last 24 hours. 16 months ago today, vladimir putin addressed the russian nation to announce the start of the so—called special military operation, the full—scale invasion of ukraine. and, at the time, he looked supremely confident. well, 16 months on, once again, president putin has addressed the russian people in very different circumstances, with russia facing an armed mutiny. and, i think, for vladimir putin, it was important to go on television, to try and show the russian people that he is in charge, that he is in control of the situation, his address was full of references

to treachery, betrayal. he described what wagner is doing as a stab in the back for the country, and the russian people. now, that is something that yevgeny prigozhin, the wagner chief, disagrees with. wagner fighters came across ukraine into russia, they entered rostov, the big regional capital in southern russia, and have taken control of military sites there. and, some reports say that they are moving north. mr prigozhin says that his beef is with the russian military, not so much with the kremlin. and, it looks like he wants to topple the russian military leadership. alongside reporting from the region we are bringing you the latest international reaction. the british government's emergency cobra committee will meet to discuss the situation in russia. prime minister, rishi sunak, has been asked about it by the bbc�*s laura kuenssberg. prime minister, what is happening in russia is clearly significant. do you think this might be a coup

against vladimir putin? we have been monitoring the potentially destabilising impact of russia's illegal war in ukraine. we are keeping a close eye on the situation as it is evolving on the ground as we speak. we are in touch with our allies and i will be speaking to some of them later today. the most important thing i would say is for all parties to be responsible and to protect civilians, and that is about as much as i can say at this moment. the ministry of defence has said online this is the most significant threat to the russian state in recent times. is that right? how do you see it? we have been monitoring for a while the potential of russia's illegal invasion of ukraine to be destabilising, and you have seen the situation as it is developing. we are keeping an eye on it and we are in touch with our allies. i will be speaking to some of them later today and the most important thing is for all parties to behave responsibly and to protect civilian lives. is it good news or bad news, that vladimir putin has been challenged?

it is an evolving situation and the right thing at this juncture is to make sure we are on top of it, that we are in touch with our allies, which we are, and i will be speaking to them later today, and that we call on all parties to exercise responsibility and to protect civilian lives. that is the most important thing for us in the uk to be doing. have you heard from president zelensky about what's going on? i am in touch with our allies and i will be speaking to them later today. you would expect us to be coordinated in a situation like this. it is evolving as we speak. if there are british citizens remaining in moscow, or in russia, for example we know a lot of people have left, but do you have advice for british citizens in russia? we have had long—standing travel advice against travel to russia, that is on the foreign office website _ people should check that. we have long—standing advice against travel to russia for the obvious reasons, but people should keep checking the foreign office website for updates. there will be more of that interview tomorrow on the laura kuenssberg programme.

for some analysis, let's now cross over to our world affairs editorjohn simpson. thank you forjoining us here. language is really important, how we describe things are really important. in the last few hours we have heard today's events described as a mutiny, rebellion, march for justice, a coup, and even a practice idle civil war. i am in interested in how you perceive the events and how you described them. the in how you perceive the events and how you described them.— in how you perceive the events and how you described them. the one word that describes — how you described them. the one word that describes it _ how you described them. the one word that describes it best _ how you described them. the one word that describes it best is _ how you described them. the one word that describes it best is a _ how you described them. the one word that describes it best is a word - that describes it best is a word that describes it best is a word that vladimir putin used. it is a mutiny. but you have to remember, it is a mutiny by probably the most effective section of the entire russian military operation. the

wagner group, although, as we know, it is often made up of people like former prisoners and so on, but they have been welded together by yevgeny prigozhin, into this unit which has a very high sense of itself, and what you might call an esprit de corps. russian forces are demoralised. although they have good defences they are nervous, they are scared of what ukrainian military can do to them. they don't have that kind of spirit that they yevgeny bogosian people do. there are only 25,000 of the wagner group, but they may well be

able to get much further than they have got already. this able to get much further than they have got already.— have got already. this is in many resects, have got already. this is in many respects, while _ have got already. this is in many respects, while it _ have got already. this is in many respects, while it involves - respects, while it involves thousands of troops, notjust in wagner but in the russian military, it does centre abound many respects his creator. the situation we are seeing today, is this the result of weakness on putin's part? is this a result of power on yevgeny prigozhin's part, or a balance of the two? it prigozhin's part, or a balance of the two? ., , prigozhin's part, or a balance of the two? . , , ., ., the two? it was unwise of putin to allow yevgeny _ the two? it was unwise of putin to allow yevgeny prigozhin _ the two? it was unwise of putin to allow yevgeny prigozhin to - the two? it was unwise of putin to allow yevgeny prigozhin to have i the two? it was unwise of putin to i allow yevgeny prigozhin to have the kind of scope that he has had. i think it was really unwise to allow yevgeny prigozhin to get deeply into this violent argument that he has with the war minister in the head of

the russian armed forces. as things stand, even now, putin is angrily joining in the row, but yevgeny prigozhin is restricting its to show ego and harass them. he thinks that they are organised the whole thing badly he has the relationship still with putin, which i imagine he doesn't want tojust with putin, which i imagine he doesn't want to just completely throughout at this stage. he is saying to the others, you come and meet me. that is the level where it is at the moment. the next stage could be quite close, where it is just between yevgeny prigozhin and putin. the other point that i think it's really important to make is

that yevgeny prigozhin has spent quite a lot of time actually on the front line. he has that kind of leader. he doesn't sit back like sergei shoigu does, way way back, and sends out his orders. yevgeny prigozhin likes to be on the front line with his men. he identifies very closely with the men that he leads, even though he threatens their lives and kills them sometimes. they are his men, it is a personal thing. sometimes. they are his men, it is a personalthing. i sometimes. they are his men, it is a personal thing. i think it is all just pushed him over the edge in the last few months, when there were tax, either mistaken or deliberate, by russian soldiers on yevgeny prigozhin's wagner men. i think that kind of thing just pushed him over the edge. kind of thing 'ust pushed him over the edae. , ., ,, , ., kind of thing 'ust pushed him over theede. ,, ., ., the edge. john simpson, our world affairs editor. _ the edge. john simpson, our world affairs editor, thank _ the edge. john simpson, our world affairs editor, thank you _ the edge. john simpson, our world affairs editor, thank you for - affairs editor, thank you for joining us. we'rejust receiving

reports that russian soldiers have set up a machine gun position on the south—western edge of moscow. that is according to a regional newspaper and those developments are being brought to us by the reuters news agency. throughout the course of his i was on bbc news we have talked about a lot of across moscow, some of them may be new for the first time. for more on the geography of these latest developments — we can cross live now to our reporter nicky schiller who is in the newsroom. talk through what is happening and where. irate talk through what is happening and where. ~ ., talk through what is happening and where. ~ . , ., ~ talk through what is happening and where. . . , ., ,, ., where. we have been talking about understanding _ where. we have been talking about understanding the _ where. we have been talking about understanding the story. _ where. we have been talking about understanding the story. you - where. we have been talking about understanding the story. you can i where. we have been talking about i understanding the story. you can see ukraine marked here. i want to enjoy your attention to this red area on the map. this is an area of ukraine that we believe is under russian military control. up until today that could have included those wagner mercenaries. they have been

involved in the counteroffensive in this area. the other place that we have been mentioning a lot is at rostov on don. that is about 100 kilometres from the border with ukraine. we believe that the wagner military moved from ukraine into rostov on don and took control of a number of places in that city. that city is key to the russian military because it is where the southern military hq because it is where the southern military h0 is. that has been involved in the fighting in ukraine. the wagner forces got there. now what we believe it's happened is that they have moved to the city of voronezh, and they have used this m4 highway to do it. as you have been reporting we are getting reports of explosions in the oil depot that is on fire in voronezh. why is that city also key to the wagner military? you can see that it is halfway between rostov on don and moscow. if the forces from the wagner military group wanted to get

to moscow, this m4 corridor is important. the uk ministry of defence thinks that their ultimate aim could be to get to moscow, and we are getting reports of a wagner convoy in this area. we thought we would take a lot to live look at google maps. if you look at the traffic on google maps for this area around voronezh, you can see all of these areas marked here are probably a roadblock or a problem with the traffic. this is the m4 that heads up traffic. this is the m4 that heads up to moscow. you can see it on that map there. that is where we are talking about. at the moment are all the roadblocks that google maps are telling us are in place at the moment. telling us are in place at the moment-— telling us are in place at the moment. brilliantly bringing to . ether moment. brilliantly bringing together that _ moment. brilliantly bringing together that information, i moment. brilliantly bringing - together that information, thank you so much. on nicky �*s map was kyiv, the capital. as we've heard president zelensky has been reacting to events in russia saying �*russia's

weakness is obvious' and that the longer russia keeps troops in ukraine the more chaos it will see. i got the latest from kyiv, from our correspondent zhanna bezpiatchuk. first of all what i saw in kyiv this morning, almost everybody was following the news from russia. for many ukrainians, this scenario, which is now happening, unfolding in russia, was seen as realistic, as plausible. now people understand that these developments on the russian ground might have very high impact on the war, on the situation on the front line, and i have to acknowledge that there is a kind of hope that, even, potentially, hypothetically, they might mean a quick end to this war.

one of the the first responses to what was called by the russian president, mutiny in russia, came from the secretary of the ukrainian security council. he is one of those from the ukrainian government who used to command on the developments during this war, and he said that he thinks that it is the beginning of the self destruction of russia, that this situation might help ukraine to regain its territories and come back to the borders of 1991. it means the regaining of territories occupied by russia, including crimea, and in general he provided a very optimistic view of this development in russia. the ukrainian president, by the way he highlighted the full scale weakness of russia.

he said that the longer russia continues war on ukraine on ukrainian ground, the more chaotic it gets on its own ground. ijust want i just want to bring you ijust want to bring you a couple of comments that have come from kyiv. the authorities in kyiv say that the russian leadership destroys themselves by attacking ukraine, and that the wagner mutiny, in the words of the ukrainian authorities, is a window of opportunity for your ukraine. in the last half an hour or so we heard from yevgeny prigozhin, coasting on the telegram app, saying his forces have come under fire from artillery and helicopters. i want to show you some pictures now. we can tell you these are from the region of voronezh. you can see that helicopter there and the explosion on the right of the screen that follows. i can't tell you exactly who operates that helicopter and

what exactly they were firing on. the helicopter on the skyline, and then that explosion following. there are reports that that may well have been a fuel depot. we have work to established with our teams at bbc verified, the city of voronezh. we have had reuters news agency witness as saying that military convoys from wagner have progressed beyond that city and that they do report seeing a military helicopter firing city and that they do report seeing a military helicopterfiring on those wagner forces. we will bring you plenty more details, insight and analysis on bbc news. you can also read it on the bbc news live page. we did not see our first day over 25 celsius here in the uk until the very end of may but we made up for it thisjune. take a look at heathrow and aviemore, where in london heathrow, there have been 14 days so far this june. the record is 17.

aviemore, we have already gone above the previous record of seven, by two days, and there's still the chance for both those figures to go higher this weekend, as we draw in the humid air from the south, ahead of fresher conditions behind these weather fronts, which will bring a change through sunday. for the rest of today, still a bit of cloud for some, a bit of low cloud around western coasts of wales. a few showers, sharp ones in northern scotland, isolated ones elsewhere. most will be dry with some sunny spells, so looking good for the prospects at lord's, queens and glastonbury, but pretty hot and humid, 25 to 29 or 30 degrees, quite widely, set against an average of what should be 17 to 21 degrees. those daytime averages, they will be close to that tonight across the country, temperatures not dropping much lower than around 15 to 17 degrees across most parts of the uk. very humid and uncomfortable night, and start to sunday. there is a change on the way. this is the weather system. once it goes through, the fresher atlantic air starts to push its way in.

it will bring some heavy, thundery downpours in northern ireland during the morning, eventually into western scotland, western fringes of northern england, north and west wales, during the afternoon. a few isolated thunderstorms breaking out before that arrives, and still some heavy showers in northern ireland. but for the far south of england and wales, the chance of a shower is only a very small one. most places will stay dry, very hot and humid towards the south and east, 31, 32 celsius. much more comfortable in western scotland and northern ireland at 17 or 18 degrees. that more comfortable air will push to all, if it has been a bit too hot for you, as we go through sunday night into monday. overnight thunderstorms gradually clearing. a lot of sunshine around to start monday. a few showers brewing across scotland through the day. some of those heavy and thundery. then more persistent rain to the west of northern ireland later on. isolated showers and sunshine turning hazy for england and wales during monday afternoon, but your temperatures, closer to where we should be at this stage injune, 17 to 23 degrees. they will be the same sort of values we see through the rest of this coming week. maybe dropping a touch

in some of the wetter spots in the north and west, always drier, and a bit warmer, the further south you are.

this is bbc news. the headlines: tanks are seen on the streets of rostov on don as president putin says russia is in the midst of an armed mutiny. translation: an internal mutiny is a serious threat |

to our state, our nation, it is a blow to russia, a blow to our people and our actions to defend the