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4/Unlike strategic weapons, which require codes from the President, the Minister of Defense, and the Chief of the General Staff to launch, tactical weapons have only rudimentary PALs (Permissive Action Links) to secure them from unauthorized use.
Fighters from Yevgeny Prigozhin‘s private Wagner militia were in control of Rostov-on-Don, a city of more than a million people close to the border with Ukraine, and were rapidly advancing northwards through western Russia.
A Reuters journalist saw army helicopters open fire at an armed Wagner column that was advancing past the city of Voronezh with troop carriers and at least one tank on a flatbed truck.
A truck transporting a military vehicle of Wagner private mercenary group drives along M-4 highway, which links the capital Moscow with Russia’s southern cities, near Voronezh, Russia, on June 24, 2023 in this still image taken from video.