Crisis cabinet – Chancellor Nehammer announces new protection measures

Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen welcomed the convocation of the crisis cabinet via Twitter. Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler, Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner, Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg and Interior Minister Gerhard Karner were also part of the crisis cabinet.

Location updates hourly
A meeting of the National Security Council is scheduled for the next few days. The SPÖ had previously requested this. Nehammer’s office also said the chancellor received hourly situation updates from all available channels. This way you always get an up-to-date picture of the situation. Van der Bellen said he was “in contact” with Nehammer. “The events in Russia are continuously monitored.”

Nuclear weapons concern
Nehammer and his EU colleagues had already expressed their concerns in the margins of the “European Forum” in Göttweig: “Nuclear weapons must not fall into the wrong hands,” said the Chancellor. He is in contact with EU colleagues and Western secret services are constantly analyzing the situation in Russia. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni spoke of a “very chaotic situation in Russia”. Immediately after returning to Rome later on Saturday, she scheduled a government meeting with the Italian secret services.

Against the background of the revolt of Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozchin, Nehammer emphasized the joint approach with Italy and other EU partners. “What happens in the Russian Federation is always of the utmost strategic importance, because Russia has biological, chemical and nuclear weapons,” he said. At the Europe Forum in Göttweig, Bulgarian President Rumen Radew also pointed out the need to take swift action to protect EU member states because of the events in Russia. “If the security situation in Russia continues to deteriorate, what will happen to thousands of nuclear warheads and chemical weapons in Russia?” Radev expressed concern.

consequences cannot be foreseen
SPÖ leader Andreas Babler described the situation on the fringes of the state party conference of the Lower Austrian Social Democrats in St. Pölten as “confusing and extremely dangerous”. The potential consequences for the security of Austria and Europe are unpredictable. “That is why we demand the convening of the National Security Council. The government must give us an assessment of the situation. We must discuss together how Austria should respond to this.”

The top politicians spoke before Wagner boss Prigozchin announced his retirement on Saturday night. The background is said to be an agreement with Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin, who was reportedly brokered by Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko. However, the details of such an agreement are unclear. Observers see Putin as greatly weakened after he was apparently unable to put up any military resistance against the mercenaries and is now reportedly allowing Prigozhin to go into exile in Belarus. Wagner’s boss had announced the capture of the military base in the southern Russian city of Rostov and then sent a long military convoy towards Moscow, which was able to cover hundreds of kilometers practically unhindered.

Travel warning for Russia
Following the events, the Austrian Foreign Ministry issued a partial travel warning for Russia. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs warns against all travel to the Russian administrative districts of Belgorod, Kursk, Bryansk, Voronezh, Rostov and Krasnodar that border Ukraine. In particular, the city of Rostow and its surroundings should be avoided. Also in Moscow and other cities in Russia “more attention should be paid”.