European Council chief says in touch with EU, G7 leaders over situation in Russia

"Closely monitoring the situation in Russia as it unfolds. In touch with European leaders and G7 partners. This is clearly an internal Russian issue," Michel said on Twitter.

Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said on Twitter that he held phone conversations with his Estonian and Latvian counterparts, Kaja Kallas and Krisjanis Karins, about the situation in Russia. The three prime ministers "agreed on close cooperation," Orpo tweeted.

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto also commented on the developments in Russia.

"The situation in Russia is unclear, and there is a lot of unconfirmed information circulating. These are internal Russian matters, which are closely monitored both in Finland and in other countries. The address of [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin speaks to the seriousness of the situation," Niinisto was quoted as saying by the Finnish News Agency (STT).

The Finnish embassy in Moscow estimates that there are about 200 Finnish citizens in Russia.

The Nordic country's foreign ministry is urging its citizens to leave the Rostov, Voronezh and Belgorod regions immediately, while its recommendation to avoid all travel to Russia has been in effect since March 2022.

On Friday, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) opened a criminal case for inciting armed mutiny over statements made on behalf of the head of the Wagner Group private military company (PMC), Yevgeny Prigozhin.

The FSB said that there was a threat of escalation on Russian territory. The Russian Defense Ministry said that social media reports of alleged Russian military strikes on PMC Wagner camps were not true.

Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a televised address to the nation on Saturday in which he described the actions of the Wagner Group PMC as an armed mutiny and treason, and promised harsh measures against the insurgents.

(With UNI inputs)