PETALING JAYA, June 26 — Malaysia may seek to bring home its citizens in Russia and the Moscow region should the situation escalate amid an armed mutiny by Wagner mercenaries last Saturday.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said he and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had already been briefed by the Foreign Ministry on the latest development following the declaration of a counter-terrorist operation (CTO) in Moscow and surrounding regions on Saturday.
“We are currently monitoring the situation in Russia and we hope they will be safe,” said Zahid after launching the 23rd FBI National Academy Association (FBINAA) Asia Pacific Retaining Conference here.
The Malaysian Embassy in the Russian Federation yesterday urged all Malaysians, particularly students in Moscow, Kursk, St. Petersburg and Volgograd to always stay vigilant and calm.
The embassy has advised them to limit movement outdoors, avoid crowded areas, always carry personal documents (including passport) and ensure travel documents are valid and easily accessible.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir also said the embassy was in contact with all 755 registered Malaysians in Russia.
There were reports that Wagner fighters had come as close as 400 kilometres from Moscow, while group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin himself claimed that “in 24 hours we got 200 kilometres from Moscow”.
The mutiny was the culmination of Prigozhin’s — once a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin — long-standing feud with the Russian military’s top brass over the conduct of the Russian operation in Ukraine.
Putin had on Saturday denounced the revolt as treason, vowing to punish the perpetrators. He accused them of pushing Russia to the brink of civil war.
Later the same day however, he had accepted an agreement brokered by Belarus to avert Moscow’s most serious security crisis in decades.
Wagner’s fighters, made up of volunteers and ex-security officers but also thousands of convicts, were often thrown into the front of Russia’s advance in Ukraine.
The outfit also conducts several operations in the Middle East and Africa, largely seen as having Moscow’s blessing.
