Russia-Ukraine war live: Wagner rebellion shows Putin’s power is finally cracking, US says

The Wagner Group’s rebellion shows that ‘cracks’ are starting to form in Putin’s power, the US has said.

Though it was short-lived, US secretary of state Anthony Blinken said the mutiny was a “direct challenge of Putin’s authority”.

Mr Blinken told US media: “We’ve seen more cracks emerge in the Russian façade. It is too soon to tell exactly where they go... but certainly, we have all sorts of new questions that Putin is going to have to address in the weeks and months ahead.”

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin will be exiled from Russia to Belarus as part of a truce agreed with Vladimir Putin after an explosive armed rebellion raced to Moscow on Saturday.

The mutiny was called off at the 11th hour as Prigozhin said he wanted to “avoid bloodshed”. Wagner’s forces were about four hours away from Moscow when news of the dramatic turnaround came.

His decision to stop Wagner soldiers storming through Moscow saved him and his men from facing criminal charges over the attempted coup, the Kremlin said.

Key Points

• Storm Z recruits accuse Prigozhin of ‘walking off’ after signing deal with Putin

• Zelensky says ‘scared' Putin ‘probably hiding somewhere’

• Russia saved from brink of civil war at 11th hour

• US briefed on Wagner forces days before rebellion started

Kremlin releases first video statement by Putin since Wagner mutiny

12:28 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday issued via the Kremlin website his first statement since an armed mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group, congratulating participants of an industrial forum.

It was not immediately clear when or where Putin’s statement was recorded.

Putin made a national address to the Russian people on Saturday condemning the mutiny by Wagner mercenaries as a “stab in the back” and vowing to crush it.

He has not commented publicly on the subsequent deal, announced late on Saturday, that appeard to defuse the crisis and avert possible bloodshed by allowing the Wagner fighters to return to base and their leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, to move to Belarus.

Ukraine retakes southeastern village of Rivnopil - deputy defence minister

11:52 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Ukrainian forces have liberated the village of Rivnopil from Russian control in the southeast, Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said on Monday.

Maliar said in an earlier statement that Kyiv’s forces had liberated about 130 square kilometres (50 square miles) in the south since Ukraine began offensive operations several weeks ago.

Ukraine reiterates call for NATO offer of simplified accession for Kyiv

11:14 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Ukraine expects to receive a clear invitation for simplified accession to NATO when the military alliance holds a summit next month in Lithuania, a senior official said on Monday.

Andriy Yermak, head of the presidential staff, reiterated Ukraine‘s position on NATO accession in comments published after Russia thwarted a march by mercenaries heading towards Moscow at the weekend.

“Ukraine‘s position: the expected result is to receive an invitation for simplified accession at the summit in July. But, importantly, we would like to receive an absolutely clear signal that would establish Ukraine‘s path to NATO membership,” he told a briefing for German media.

Prepare for Putin’s fall, UK officials warn

10:48 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Internal UK government assessments have reportedly warned that the country should prepared for the fall of the Putting regime after the attempted Wagner coup.

British officials and diplomats are getting ready for a range of different scenarios, according to The Times.

“From the very beginning of the invasion, one of the most obvious scenarios was that the war could lead to political unrest back home in Russia,” a senior government source told the newspaper.

On the prospect of regime change, they adding: “We have to wait, watch and see what comes next. This could be chapter one of something new.”

John Foreman, former UK defence attache at the British Embassy in Moscow, said a successful coup by the Wagner Group would have been a “worst case scenario”.

“You’ve got to be careful what you wish for. Prigozhin is not some sort of liberal, peace-loving democrat. He’s a fascist.”

Ukraine urges EU to ‘accelerate Russia's defeat’ by increasing Ukraine support

10:16 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba urged the European Union on Monday to “accelerate Russia’s defeat” by stepping up support for Ukraine.

Kuleba, who was attending a meeting with EU foreign ministers, said on Twitter the fact that tanks had moved towards Moscow during a thwarted coup showed that “Ukraine will win”.

“At #FAC (Foreign Affairs Council), I urged the EU to accelerate Russia’s defeat by stepping up support for Ukraine,” Kuleba wrote.

Watch: Ukraine’s Kakhovka reservoir turns into desert after dam explosion

09:48 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Wagner mutiny shows Moscow's 'big strategic mistake' in attacking Kyiv - NATO

09:29 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The aborted mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group in Russia demonstrates that Moscow committed a strategic mistake by waging war on Ukraine, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday.

“The events over the weekend are an internal Russian matter, and yet another demonstration of the big strategic mistake that President (Vladimir) Putin made with his illegal annexation of Crimea and the war against Ukraine,” he told reporters on a visit to Lithuania’s capital Vilnius.

“As Russia continues its assault, it is even more important to continue our support to Ukraine.”

Russia’s Prigozhin remains under investigation for mutiny- Kommersant newspaper

08:53 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin remains under investigation by the Federal Security Service (FSB) on suspicion of organising an armed mutiny, the Kommersant newspaper reported on Monday, citing an unidentified source.

The criminal case against Prigozhin was initiated on June 23 after he announced a “march for justice” by his fighters against the military leadership, who he said were cowards who were undermining Russia‘s war effort in Ukraine.

As part of a deal, as set out by the Kremlin’s spokesman, criminal charges against the mutineers were to be dropped in exchange for their return to camps, and Prigozhin was to move to Belarus.

On its website, Kommersant cited its source as saying there had not yet been time to change the status of the case.

Moscow mayor cancels Wagner mutiny anti-terror regime in city

08:12 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said he was cancelling a counter-terrorism regime imposed in the Russian capital during what the authorities on Saturday called an armed mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group.

Sobyanin made the announcement in a statement posted on the Telegram messaging application on Monday. Russian media cited local Federal Security Service (FSB) offices as saying similar regimes had been cancelled in the Voronezh and Moscow regions.

Separately, Russia‘s National Anti-terrorism Committee said the situation in the country was “stable”.

Anti-terrorist regimes were imposed in the three regions on Saturday, as a column of rebellious Wagner mercenaries moved towards Moscow, exchanging fire with security forces

Russian defence minister appears for first time since Wagner mutiny

07:36 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russia’s defence minister visited Russian troops involved in his first public appearance since Wagner’s attempted coup.

In a video released on Monday morning by the Russian Defence Ministry, Shoigu was shown flying in a plane with a colleague and hearing reports at a command post run by Russia‘s Zapad (West) military grouping.

There was no sound on the video and it was not immediately clear where or when the visit had taken place.

Russia‘s Zvezda Defence Ministry TV Channel said Shoigu, who looked physically unharmed and calm, had listened to a report by Colonel General Yevgeny Nikiforov, the group’s commander, about the current situation on the frontlines in Ukraine.

In his mutiny during which he seized control of Russia‘s military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don, Wagner mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin had demanded that Sergei Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov, the Chief of the General Staff, be handed over to him so that he could “restore justice.”

Prigozhin accused both men of gross incompetence and corruption and had long been agitating for their removal.

Ukraine gains evident around Bakhmut in Donetsk, says UK MoD

07:01 , Arpan Rai

On the war frontlines, Ukraine has been making advances and gaining momentum with its attacks in Bakhmut in Donetsk oblast, the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said.

“As part of its broader counter-offensive, Ukraine has gained impetus in its assaults around Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast. In a multi-brigade operation, Ukrainian forces have made progress on both the northern and southern flanks of the town,” the ministry said in its latest intelligence update.

It added that there has been “little evidence that Russia maintains any significant ground forces operational level reserves which could be used to reinforce against the multiple threats it is now facing in widely separated sectors, from Bakhmut to the eastern bank of the Dnipro River, over 200km away.”

Wagner chief’s revolt lost momentum due to lack of support, says former CIA chief

06:48 , Arpan Rai

The rebellion called on Moscow by Wagner chief fizzled quickly in part because Yevgeny Prigozhin did not have the backing he apparently expected from Russian security services, a former CIA director said.

“Clearly, Prigozhin lost his nerve,” retired US Gen David Petraeus, a former CIA director, said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”“This rebellion, although it had some applause along the way, didn’t appear to be generating the kind of support that he had hoped it would,” he told CNN.

Locals appeared to agree. “It all ended perfectly well, thank God. With minimal casualties, I think. Good job,” said a resident, who agreed only to provide his first name, Sergei.

The Wagner soldiers used to be heroes to him, but not now, he said.

Threats to family made Wagner chief call off Moscow mutiny – report

06:25 , Arpan Rai

Threats endangering the families of Wagner leaders before Yevgeny Prigozhin made by Russian intelligence services caused the mercenary leader to stop his advance on Russia, the UK security sources said, reported The Telegraph.

In a separate assessment, it has been found that Wagner mercenary force had only 8,000 fighters for advancing on Moscow rather than 25,000 as claimed. They were also likely to face defeat in their attempt to take the Russian capital, the report added.

It has also been assessed that Vladimir Putin will now try to bring in Wagner group soldiers into the Russian military and pull out its former leaders, The Telegraph reported.

The group’s forces, led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, were just 120 miles from Moscow before the rebellion was called off to avoid shedding Russian blood.

He has gone into exile in Belarus after a deal with Vladimir Putin’s government was brokered at the last minute.

The agreement will see charges against him of mounting an armed rebellion dropped.

Russian defence minister Shoigu visits troops after Wagner mutiny

06:08 , Arpan Rai

Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu has visited Russian troops involved in the military operation in Ukraine, the RIA news agency reported today.

This marks his first public appearance since the weekend mutiny by the Wagner paramilitary group amid speculation that the minister was placed in a strict house arrest.

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, who had declared Shoigu as his rival, led mutineers in a short-lived weekend revolt and advanced on Moscow to remove what they called Russia’s corrupt and incompetent military leadership.

But they suddenly headed back to a Russia-held area of eastern Ukraine after a deal with the Kremlin brokered by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko.

Australia packs $74m military aid, including war vehicles, for Ukraine

04:10 , Arpan Rai

Australia is sending a fresh A$110m (£57.5m) package to Ukraine including 70 military vehicles as it continues to repel Russian invasion, prime minister Anthony Albanese said today.

The package will include 28 M113 armoured vehicles, 14 special operations vehicles, 28 medium trucks and 14 trailers.

“Australia is unwavering in our resolve to condemn and oppose Russia’s actions and to help Ukraine achieve victory,” the prime minister said.

He added that Australia will also extend duty-free access for goods imported from Ukraine for a further 12 months, to support its recovery and trade opportunities.

The new assistance package, Mr Albanese said, was prepared before the news of Wagner’s brief mutiny against Vladimir Putin regime emerged over the weekend.

2023 will be a game changer in war, says Ukrainian defence minister

04:03 , Arpan Rai

The current phase of the counteroffensive is a “preparatory operation” and once the counteroffensive is fully underway it will be a success, the Ukrainian defence minister Oleksii Reznikov said.

"This year will be a game changer," he told Fox News in an interview.

“My gut feeling is we will win this war because we are fighting for our country.”

Denying that the ongoing fierce pushback from Ukrainian forces on multiple fronts is the counteroffensive, Mr Reznikov said the action is “some kind of preparatory operation”, adding that Russian forces have built up “very strong defensive lines”.

While the early expectations for the counteroffensive were “overestimated”, Mr Reznikov said, he added that Ukraine is extremely careful in deploying its brave and motivated soldiers in dangerous way.

“We try to save their lives,” the defence minister said.

What happened in the Wagner Group mutiny?

04:00 , Lucy Skoulding

On Saturday, Mr Prigozhin’s forces appeared to control the military headquarters in the city of Rostov-on-Don near the Ukrainian border after crossing from occupied parts of Ukraine

The governor of the Lipetsk province later said the Wagner Group entered his region, which is about 225 miles south of Moscow.

The march was then dramatically called off later on Saturday as it abandoned a coup that saw soldiers take control of the military headquarters in both Rostov and Voronezh.

Rogue Russian mercenary fighters had their efforts labelled as “treason” by Vladimir Putin after the shock advance that began on Friday evening.

The mutiny, called off when troops were just four hours from the Russian capital in a deal brokered by Belarus, marked one of the most explosive episodes in the country’s war saga to date.

The move came after the group’s leader Yevgeny Prigozhin accused the Kremlin of deliberately bombing Wagner troops in Bakhmut.

Britain’s Ministry of Defence has called the instalment “the most significant challenge to the Russian state” in a series of events that are set to put the city firmly on the map.

US intelligence ‘knew Wagner was planning insurrection’ weeks ago

03:40 , Arpan Rai

US intelligence agencies learned weeks ago that the Wagner Group was planning an insurrection, officials in Washington have said.

Multiple US officials told The Washington Post, that intelligence agencies learned in mid-June that the Russian mercernary group, led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, was planning an armed rebellion to take out the country’s military leaders who he has blamed for the bungled invasion of Ukraine.

“There were enough signals to be able to tell the leadership … that something was up,” an unnamed US official told the Post, referring to the White House. “So I think they were ready for it.”

US intelligence ‘knew Wagner was planning insurrection’ weeks ago

Ukrainian president speaks with Biden following Wagner mutiny

03:00 , Lucy Skoulding

President Zelensky connected with President Biden following the almost-coup in Russia by the Wagner Group.

Zelensky’s full statement on Twitter read: “I spoke with President @POTUS. A positive and inspiring conversation.

“We discussed the course of hostilities and the processes taking place in Russia. The world must put pressure on Russia until international order is restored.

“I thanked the @POTUS for the unflagging support of Ukraine, especially for Patriots.

“It is important to further increase Ukraine’s capabilities to protect our skies. In this context, I also thanked him for the support of the fighter jet coalition.

“We discussed further expansion of defense cooperation, with an emphasis on long-range weapons.

“I am grateful for the readiness of the US and the American people to stand side by side with Ukraine until the full liberation of all our territories within internationally recognized borders.

“We coordinated our positions on the eve of the @NATO Summit in Vilnius, discussed further work on the implementation of Peace Formula and preparations for the Global Peace Summit.”

Russian authorities tell journalists to ‘take a day off'

02:00 , Lucy Skoulding

Russian authorities have told journalists to “take a day off” after covering the march in on Moscow by the Wagner Group due to it being a “tense” weekend.

The rebellion led by Yevgeny Prigozhin which vowed to attack Russian military leadership caused reporters and newsrooms to work around the clock over the weekend, so authorities have told media employees to take a day off on Monday, according to Agence France-Presse.

“Saturday was a very emotional and tense day,” the ministry of digital development, communications and mass media said in a statement on social media.

“We recommend giving employees of IT and telecom companies and media a day off.”

“Many employees of the digital development ministry spent the weekend at their workplace,” the statement said, “so we also made this decision for our employees.”

Zelensky speaks to Justin Trudeau

01:00 , Lucy Skoulding

Zelensky held a series of phone calls with country leaders following the Wagner Group mutiny, including Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau.

He said he drew him to the attention of the “threatening situation created by the occupation troops at the Zaporizhzhia NPP”.

In a tweet summarising his call with the Canadian prime minister, Zelensky said: “I held the first of a series of important phone calls - with Prime Minister @JustinTrudeau. I’m grateful to him for his recent visit to Kyiv and to Canada and all Canadians for their continued support of Ukraine.

“I spoke about the current situation on the battlefield and shared assessments of the attempted coup in and the impact of this situation on the course of hostilities. I drew @JustinTrudeau‘s attention to the threatening situation created by the occupation troops at the Zaporizhzhia NPP.

“Insufficient reaction of the world to the blowing up of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant dam and the attempt to blow up the dam at the Kryvyi Rih reservoir allows the occupiers to prepare a terrorist attack with radiation leakage at the ZNPP.

“Partners of must demonstrate a principled response, in particular at the @NATO Summit in Vilnius.”

US secretary of state says we’ve not ‘seen the last act’ after Wagner Group’s mutiny

Monday 26 June 2023 00:00 , Lucy Skoulding

Blinken and members of the U.S. Congress said in a series of television interviews that Saturday’s turmoil in Russia has weakened Putin in ways that could aid Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russian forces within its territory while benefiting Russia’s neighbors, including Poland and the Baltic states.

“I don’t think we’ve seen the final act,” Blinken said on ABC’s “This Week” program after an aborted mutiny by forces led by Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Blinken said tensions that sparked the action had been growing for months and added the threat of internal turmoil could affect Moscow’s military capabilities in Ukraine.

“We’ve seen more cracks emerge in the Russian facade. It is too soon to tell exactly where they go, and when they get there. But certainly, we have all sorts of new questions that Putin is going to have to address in the weeks and months ahead,” Blinken told NBC’s “Meet the Press” program.

Blinken described the turmoil as an “internal matter” for Putin.

“Our focus is resolutely and relentlessly on Ukraine, making sure that it has what it needs to defend itself and to take back territory that Russia seized,” Blinken said.

Ukrainian defence minister. says Russian authorities ‘weak’ and things are ‘moving in the right direction'

Sunday 25 June 2023 23:30 , Lucy Skoulding

Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said he discussed the turmoil in Russia in a phone call with his U.S. counterpart on Sunday, describing the Russian authorities as “weak” and saying things were “moving in the right direction.”

In a brief readout of the call with Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, Reznikov said they also discussed Ukraine’s counteroffensive and steps to strengthen Ukraine’s armed forces.

“We agree that the Russian authorities are weak and that withdrawing Russian troops from Ukraine is the best choice for the Kremlin,” Reznikov wrote on Twitter.

Biden administration warns more turmoil possible in Russia

Sunday 25 June 2023 22:57 , Lucy Skoulding

The Biden administration has warned that more turmoil is possible in Russia after a short-lived coup instigated by a mercenary group once loyal to Putin.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken made the prediction on Sunday in the first comments from a senior administration official on Russia’s future after a whirlwind 48 hours which left the leader of the Wagner Group exiled after his troops marched on Moscow.

“This is an unfolding story, and I think we’re in the midst of a moving picture,” Mr Blinken said on CBS show Face the Nation. “We haven’t seen the last act. We’re watching it very closely.”

Read the full story by John Bowden.

Sunday 25 June 2023 21:00 , Lucy Skoulding

On Saturday, Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Russian hotdog-seller turned mercenary, was firing off expletive-riddled voice notes and videos every other hour that were being broadcast across the world.

In them, the chief of Wagner, a powerful private military company (PMC), blamed the Russian Ministry of Defence for bombing his troops in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region.

He accused them of lying to his country about the motivations for going to war in Ukraine, and he vowed to get revenge.

Read the full story from Independent reporter Bel Trew.

Putin and Lukashenko speak on phone after Wagner mutiny

Sunday 25 June 2023 20:30 , Lucy Skoulding

Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko have talked to each other again on the phone this morning, as Belarus’ Belta news agency has reported.

After the Wagner Group mutiny, Lukashenko spoke to the Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, who subsequently agreed to de-escalate the situation and go to Belarus.

Putin and Lukashenko spoke at least twice on Saturday and again this morning.

Sunday 25 June 2023 20:00 , Lucy Skoulding

The aftermath of the Wagner rebellion in Russia is an “internal matter” which will not affect the UK’s ongoing support for Ukraine, a Cabinet minister has said.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury John Glen made the comments as the fallout from the mercenary group’s march on Moscow continues.

The group’s forces, led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, were just 120 miles from Moscow before the rebellion was called off to avoid shedding Russian blood.

He has gone into exile in Belarus after a deal with Vladimir Putin’s government was brokered at the last minute.

The agreement will see charges against him of mounting an armed rebellion dropped.

Read the full story by Independent reporter Gwyn Wright.

Sunday 25 June 2023 19:30 , Lucy Skoulding

The new Russian Revolution failed to take place. Vladimir Putin may be much weakened, but he has not been deposed. Yevgeny Prigozhin is not in Moscow, but on his way to Minsk. There are no signs, as yet, of the Kremlin’s military lines in Ukraine crumbling.

It was not entirely unexpected by some. US and Western intelligence agencies, it has emerged, had begun to learn some days ago that the Wagner Group, Prigozhin’s mercenary army, would soon be on the move.

Not against Ukrainians, but back into Russia and ready for armed confrontation with Russian forces.

The information, according to Western security officials, as well as one from a Baltic state, had been gleaned from satellite imagery of heavy weaponry being moved, troop redeployments, and interception of communication which has proved so valuable in predicting Putin’s invasion before it began.

Read the full story of the anatomy of Wagner’s failed mutiny by Independent reporter Kim Sengupta.

Lithuanian president

Sunday 25 June 2023 19:00 , Lucy Skoulding

Gitanas Nausėda , president of Lithuania, says Nato will have to strengthen its eastern flank for Belarus to host the Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Nauseda said: “If Prigozhin or part of the Wagner group ends up in Belarus with unclear plans and unclear intentions, it will only mean that we need to further strengthen the security of our eastern borders.

“I am not only talking about Lithuania here, but without a doubt the whole of Nato.”

The president added that he believes Putin will face more challenges to his leadership.

Wagner Group mutiny shows ‘cracks’ in Putin’s power, US says

Sunday 25 June 2023 18:37 , Lucy Skoulding

Though it didn’t last long, the Wagner Group’s rebellion shows that Putin’s power is weakening, according to US secretary of state Anthony Blinken.

Mr Blinken told US media: “We’ve seen more cracks emerge in the Russian façade. It is too soon to tell exactly where they go... but certainly, we have all sorts of new questions that Putin is going to have to address in the weeks and months ahead.”

Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin initially questioned the premise for the Ukraine war which led to a “direct challenge to Putin himself” according to Mr Blinken.

He added: “This raises lots of profound questions that will be answered in the days and weeks ahead.”

Russian state TV’s Dmitry Kiselyov says resolution of Wagner Group mutiny shows Russia is united

Sunday 25 June 2023 18:15 , Lucy Skoulding

BBC Monitoring’s Francis Scarr has shared a clip from Russian state TV’s Dmitry Kiselyov on Twitter.

Kiselyov has said that the quick resolution of the Wagner Group’s mutiny shows Russia is united as a nation.

Mr Scarr tweeted: “In his flagship Sunday night news show, state TV’s Dmitry Kiselyov claimed the resolution to the Wagner mutiny demonstrated that Russia is a united nation

“He also dug up an old clip of Putin saying that he is able to forgive many things, but not ‘betrayal.’”

Repressive Belarus an awkward landing place for rebellious Russian mercenary boss

Sunday 25 June 2023 18:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russian mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin was notorious for unbridled and profane challenges to authority even before the attempted rebellion that he mounted Saturday. The reported agreement for him to go into exile in Belarus would place him in a country where such behavior is even less acceptable than in his homeland.

Prigozhin on Sunday was uncharacteristically silent as his Wagner private army forces pulled back from Russian cities after a Kremlin announcement that he agreed to depart for Belarus; it remains unclear whether he’s actually there.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko reportedly negotiated the deal. But Prigozhin’s maverick ways are at odds with Lukashenko’s harsh repression of dissent and independent media. In power since 1994, the leader often called “Europe’s last dictator” launched a brutal crackdown on 2020 protests against his rule; hundreds were sentenced to lengthy prison terms, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski.

Repressive Belarus an awkward landing place for rebellious Russian mercenary boss

What is the Wagner mercenary group led by Yevgeny Prigozhin?

Sunday 25 June 2023 17:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine have been supported on the battlefield by tens of thousands of mercenaries from a shadowy group led by a businessman and longtime affiliate of president Vladimir Putin.

The Wagner Group is a private military company under the control of Yevgeny Prigozhin that cut its teeth in deployments to Crimea and eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region in 2014 and has since dispatched troops to several conflicts in the Middle East and Africa, including the Syrian Civil War.

In Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Wagner has proved indispensable, but an apparent power struggle between the Kremlin and the outspoken Mr Prigozhin has led to the group having its wings clipped by Moscow.

What is the Wagner mercenary group led by Yevgeny Prigozhin?

‘We haven’t heard the last of Prigozhin,’ Lord Dannatt says after Wagner chief exiled

Sunday 25 June 2023 17:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Former chief of the UK general staff, Lord Richard Dannatt, has discussed the fate of the head of the Wagner mercenary group after events in Russia in the last 24 hours.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, who ordered his troops to march on Moscow, abruptly reached a deal with the Kremlin to go into exile in Belarus and sounded the retreat on Saturday evening (24 June).

However, Lord Dannatt does not believe “we’ve heard the last” of the rebellious mercenary commander.

“We haven’t heard the last of Prigozhin, but we may have begun to hear about the latter days of Vladimir Putin,” He told BBC Breakfast.

‘We haven’t heard the last of Prigozhin,’ Lord Dannatt says after Wagner chief exiled

Mapped: Inside Russian Wagner group’s road towards Moscow

Sunday 25 June 2023 16:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

In case you missed it...

Wagner’s armed rebellion dramatically called off its march towards Moscow on Saturday as it abandoned a coup that saw soldiers take control of the military headquarters in both Rostov and Voronezh.

Rogue Russian mercenary fighters had their efforts labelled as “treason” by Vladimir Putin after the shock advance that began on Friday evening.

The mutiny, called off when troops were just four hours from the Russian capital in a deal brokered by Belarus, marked one of the most explosive episodes in the country’s war saga to date.

The move came after the group’s leader Yevgeny Prigozhin accused the Kremlin of deliberately bombing Wagner troops in Bakhmut.

Britain’s Ministry of Defence has called the instalment “the most significant challenge to the Russian state” in a series of events that are set to put the city firmly on the map.

Mapped: Inside Russian Wagner group’s road towards Moscow

China expresses support for Russia after aborted mutiny

Sunday 25 June 2023 16:05 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

China supports Russia in maintaining its national stability, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Sunday, a day after an aborted mutiny by the Wagner group of heavily armed mercenaries.

Russia‘s Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko held talks in Beijing on “international” issues on Sunday following the most serious challenge to President Vladimir Putin’s grip on power since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

“The Chinese side expressed support for the efforts of the leadership of the Russian Federation to stabilise the situation in the country in connection with the events of June 24 and confirmed its interest in strengthening the cohesion and further prosperity of Russia,” the Russian foreign ministry said.

China’s foreign ministry initially said only that Rudenko had exchanged views with China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Sino-Russian relations as well as “international and regional issues of common concern”.

It later said China supports Russia in maintaining its national stability and that the recent escalation in tensions in Russia was Russia‘s “internal affairs”.

It was unclear when Rudenko arrived in Beijing, or whether his visit to China, a key ally of Russia, was in response to the apparent rebellion led by mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.

The mutiny was aborted on Saturday in a deal that spared Prigozhin and his mercenaries from facing criminal charges in return for Prigozhin pulling his fighters back to base and moving to Belarus.

Putin has clung on – but his fight for power has only just begun

Sunday 25 June 2023 15:48 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The Russian leader has dodged the immediate threat the from the mercenary leader of the Wagner Group, but there is likely to be a high price to pay, writes Mary Dejevsky:

It’s over – or is it? After 24 hours of high drama, which involved a 25,000 strong mercenary force mounting what increasingly became a direct challenge to President Putin and an armed convoy that came within 200km of Moscow, all would now appear to be quiet on the Russian front. In so many ways, though, the power dynamic inside Russia, and potentially also in the Russia-Ukraine war, has changed.

The questions now are how deep that change runs, whether it is permanent, and what was the cost to Putin of the 11th hour agreement – brokered by Belarus president, Alexander Lukashenka – that led to the convoy being turned around and the chief mutineer settling for exile and immunity from prosecution.

In averting a coup, Putin has won the battle – but not the war | Mary Dejevsky

‘Cracks are emerging’: US secretary of state says Putin’s power is weakening

Sunday 25 June 2023 15:25 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The US secretary of state has said Wagner’s attempted coup shows that there are “cracks emerging” in Vladimir Putin’s edifice.

Speaking to ABC News, Antony Blinken said: “If you put this in context 16 months ago, Putin was on the doorstep of Kyiv in Ukraine, looking to take the city in a matter of days, erase the country from the map.

“Now, he’s had to defend Moscow, Russia’s capital, against a mercenary of his own making.

“So, I think this is clearly -- we see cracks emerging. Where they go, if anywhere, when they get there, very hard to say. I don’t want to speculate on it.”

Wagner rebellion turmoil an ‘internal matter’ for Russia – minister

Sunday 25 June 2023 15:12 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The aftermath of the Wagner rebellion in Russia is an “internal matter” which will not affect the UK’s ongoing support for Ukraine, a Cabinet minister has said.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury John Glen made the comments as the fallout from the mercenary group’s march on Moscow continues.

The group’s forces, led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, were just 120 miles from Moscow before the rebellion was called off to avoid shedding Russian blood.

He has gone into exile in Belarus after a deal with Vladimir Putin’s government was brokered at the last minute.

The agreement will see charges against him of mounting an armed rebellion dropped.

Wagner rebellion turmoil an ‘internal matter’ for Russia – minister

UK at ‘risk of woefully underestimating’ Russia

Sunday 25 June 2023 14:40 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The UK is at risk of “woefully underestimating” Russia and its armed forces, the former chief of the defence staff has warned.

Lord Richards told Times Radio: “It seems to me that we have been at risk of woefully underestimating Russia and her armed forces, you know, despite the obvious chaos at the top levels of Russian defence, and the arguments between Wagner and the General Staff, and so on.

“The fact is, it doesn’t appear as if Ukraine has been able to exploit it to achieve what it wants to do and needs to do, which is ... a big penetration of the Russian lines.

“And I suspect that whilst it might yet still happen, that we are in, despite the weakened state, arguably of (Vladimir) Putin, we’re in for a long haul here. And that actually is the worst of all worlds for the West.

“What we should have achieved or sought to achieve is a much more rapid and decisive victory, full blooded engagement last year, we failed to do this.”

Storm Z recruits accuse Prigozhin of ‘walking off’ after signing deal with Putin

Sunday 25 June 2023 14:08 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Recruits of Storm Z have accused Yevgeny Prigozhin of “walking off” in the middle of an attempted coup after making a deal with Vladimir Putin.

In a video, the Russian military unit made up of convicts said: “Rumours say you walked off, lied to all the lads. The whole of Storm Z was ready to stand behind you, and not only Storm Z, your guys also. But you walked off.”

He added: “When people move, they move together. But it turns out you’re not a man.”

‘Most ridiculous attempt at mutiny ever'

Sunday 25 June 2023 13:51 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

An adviser to the Ukrainian defence minister described the Wagner rebellion in Russia as “the most ridiculous attempt at mutiny” ever.

“This only makes Russia weaker and makes us stronger,” Yuriy Sak told BBC Radio 4’s The World This Weekend.

“What happened yesterday in Russia, it will probably go down in history as the most ridiculous attempt at mutiny that was ever attempted.

“It will have no bearing on our plans. We are on a mission to liberate our land and I just hope that our allies watching this ridiculous mutiny yesterday, they understand that the only way to end the war in Ukraine is to ensure that Ukraine defeats Russia militarily.

“There can be no hope for some kind of internal transformation in Russia. It’s only going to happen on the battlefield.”

Putin expresses confidence on Ukraine in interview recorded before revolt

Sunday 25 June 2023 13:38 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russian state television on Sunday showed Russian President Vladimir Putin expressing confidence in plans for Ukraine in an interview that appeared to have been recorded before Saturday’s aborted revolt by the Wagner group of mercenaries.

“We feel confident, and, of course, we are in a position to implement all the plans and tasks ahead of us,” Putin said. “This also applies to the country’s defence, it applies to the special military operation, it applies to the economy as a whole and its individual areas.”

The comments in an interview with Kremlin correspondent Pavel Zarubin were broadcast by Rossiya state television. Zarubin said the interview was done after a meeting with military graduates, in an apparent reference to an event held on Wednesday.

The full interview was due to be broadcast later on Sunday.

The short report did not mention Saturday’s revolt, in which Wagner mercenaries took a southern city before heading toward Moscow. In a televised address before the drama was defused and the group stopped their advance, Putin said the rebellion put Russia‘s very existence under threat.

In its daily briefing on Sunday the Defence Ministry also did not mention anything about the actions of Wagner and its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Asked in the interview how much time he dedicates to what Russia calls its special military operation, Putin said: “Of course, this is paramount, every day starts and ends with this.”

Putin says he is confident in Ukraine plans

Sunday 25 June 2023 13:20 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday told state television he was in constant contact with the defence ministry and that the country remained confident in realising its plans related to the “special military operation” in Ukraine.

The comments in an interview with Kremlin correspondent Pavel Zarubin were broadcast by Rossiya state television. The full interview was due to be broadcast later on Sunday.

Putin will put his jackboot on the throat of Prigozhin and Wagner – I know from experience

Sunday 25 June 2023 13:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Using brutality to try to stamp out dissent is what the Russian president has done for more than 20 years, writes Kremlin critic Bill Browder:

The first – and most important – thing to know about Vladimir Putin is that he has to show total strength all the time in order to stay in power.

The actions of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner mercenary forces, are a direct challenge to that. But Putin’s psychology is the psychology of the prison yard. If you are new in the prison yard you have to show such brutality to make your mark and then keep up that same level to maintain a position at the top. That is what Putin has done ever since he came to power more than 20 years ago.

Putin terrorises anyone who gets in his way – I know from experience | Bill Browder

Russian mercenary leader's exile ends revolt but leaves questions about Putin's power

Sunday 25 June 2023 12:40 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Vladimir Putin had initially vowed to punish those behind the armed uprising led by his onetime protege.

In a televised speech to the nation, he called the rebellion a “betrayal” and “treason.”

In allowing Prigozhin and his forces to go free, Peskov said, Putin’s “highest goal” was “to avoid bloodshed and internal confrontation with unpredictable results.”

The risk for Putin is whether he will be seen as weak, analysts said. “Putin has been diminished for all time by this affair,” former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst said on CNN.

Early Saturday, Prigozhin’s private army appeared to control the military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don, a city 660 miles (over 1,000 kilometers) south of Moscow, which runs Russian operations in Ukraine, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said.

Moscow braced for the arrival of the Wagner forces by erecting checkpoints with armored vehicles and troops on the city’s southern edge.

About 3,000 Chechen soldiers were pulled from fighting in Ukraine and rushed there early Saturday, state television in Chechnya reported.

Russian troops armed with machine guns put up checkpoints on Moscow’s southern outskirts. Crews dug up sections of highways to slow the march.

Wagner troops advanced to just 200 kilometers (120 miles) from Moscow, according to Prigozhin.

But after the deal was struck, Prigozhin announced that he had decided to retreat to avoid “shedding Russian blood.

”A U.S.-based think tank argued that Prigozhin’s rebellion “exposed severe weaknesses” in the Kremlin and the Ministry of Defense.

The Institute for the Study of War said that the Kremlin struggled to put up a coherent response to the rebellion, and that one reason was likely the impact of heavy Russian losses in Ukraine.

“Wagner likely could have reached the outskirts of Moscow if Prigozhin chose to order them to do so,” the institute said.

Who is Yevgeny Prigozhin? The exiled Wagner Group mercenary chief who rebelled against Putin

Sunday 25 June 2023 12:20 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Once a low-profile businessman who benefited from having President Vladimir Putin as a powerful patron, Yevgeny Prigozhin moved into the global spotlight with Russia’s war in Ukraine.

As the leader of a mercenary force who depicts himself as fighting many of the Russian military’s toughest battles in Ukraine, the 62-year-old Prigozhin has now moved into his most dangerous role yet: preaching open rebellion against his country’s military leadership.

Prigozhin, owner of the Kremlin-allied Wagner Group, has escalated what have been months of scathing criticism of Russia’s conduct of the war by calling on Friday for an armed uprising to oust the defense minister. Russian security services reacted immediately, opening a criminal investigation and demanding Prigozhin’s arrest.

Who is Yevgeny Prigozhin?

Wagner fighters cheered by locals as they withdraw from Rostov-on-Don

Sunday 25 June 2023 12:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Locals in Rostov-on-Don took selfies with Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin and cheered as his mercenaries left the Russian city on Saturday evening (24 June).

The head of the group called off the mutiny at the 11th hour as his men raced to Moscow in action Vladimir Putin had described as “treason” hours earlier.

Footage shows Rostov residents wishing Prigozhin well and cheering his troops as they departed the city that they had moved into unimpeded on Saturday.

Prigozhin will be exiled from Russia to Belarus as part of a truce agreed with Putin.

Wagner fighters cheered by locals as they withdraw from Rostov-on-Don

‘We haven’t heard the last of Prigozhin,’ Lord Dannatt says after Wagner chief exiled

Sunday 25 June 2023 11:38 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Former chief of the UK general staff, Lord Richard Dannatt, has discussed the fate of the head of the Wagner mercenary group after events in Russia in the last 24 hours.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, who ordered his troops to march on Moscow, abruptly reached a deal with the Kremlin to go into exile in Belarus and sounded the retreat on Saturday evening (24 June).

However, Lord Dannatt does not believe “we’ve heard the last” of the rebellious mercenary commander.

“We haven’t heard the last of Prigozhin, but we may have begun to hear about the latter days of Vladimir Putin,” He told BBC Breakfast.

‘We haven’t heard the last of Prigozhin,’ Lord Dannatt says after Wagner chief exiled

N.Korea vice foreign minister supports Russian leadership over mutiny

Sunday 25 June 2023 11:20 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

North Korea’s vice foreign minister in a meeting with the Russian ambassador on Sunday said he supported any decision by the Russian leadership to deal with a recent mutiny, North Korean state media reported.

Im Chon Il, the vice foreign minister, “expressed firm belief that the recent armed rebellion in Russia would be successfully put down in conformity with the aspiration and will of the Russian people,” state KCNA news agency said.

Heavily armed Russian mercenaries who advanced most of the way to Moscow this weekend halted their approach, de-escalating a major challenge to President Vladimir Putin’s grip on power, in a move their leader said would avoid bloodshed.

North Korea has sought to forge closer ties with the Kremlin and backed Moscow after it invaded Ukraine last year, blaming the “hegemonic policy” of the United States and the West.

Im also said he believed the Russian army would “overcome trials and ordeals and heroically emerge victorious in the special military operation against Ukraine,” according to KCNA.

Putin ‘very afraid’ and ‘probably hiding’ after Wagner rebellion, Zelensky says

Sunday 25 June 2023 11:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Volodymyr Zelensky has suggested Vladimir Putin is “very afraid” after a rebellion from Wagner Group mercenaries.

Yevgeny Prigozhin’s men were barely 100 miles from Moscow when the mutiny was called off, with the leader cleared of any criminal charges and sent to Belarus hours after the Russian president had labelled the action as “treason”.

“The man from the Kremlin is obviously very afraid and probably hiding somewhere, not showing himself,” Ukrainian president Zelensky said on Saturday evening (24 June).

“I am sure that he is no longer in Moscow.”

Putin ‘very afraid’ and ‘probably hiding’ after Wagner rebellion, Zelensky says

Chechen special forces withdraw from Russia's Rostov region -TASS

Sunday 25 June 2023 10:34 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Chechen special forces deployed to Russia‘s Rostov region to resist an advance by the Wagner mercenary group were withdrawing on Sunday, the TASS news agency reported, citing a commander.

The “Akhmat” special forces are returning to where they were fighting previously, commander Apty Alaudinov was quoted as saying by the news agency.

Attacks in Kyiv could take place from Belarus if Wagner forces follow Prigozhin to country

Sunday 25 June 2023 10:13 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

A renewed attack on Kyiv from Belarus could take place if Wagner Group mercenaries follow their leader Yevgeny Prigozhin into the country, a former chief of the UK General Staff has warned.

Lord Dannatt told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme: “Apparently he’s left the stage to go to Belarus but is that the end of Prigozhin and the Wagner Group? The fact that he’s gone to Belarus is I think a matter of some concern.

“What we don’t know, what we will discover in the next hours and days is... how many of his fighters have actually gone with him.

“If he has gone to Belarus and has kept an effective fighting force around him, he then presents a threat again to the Ukrainian flank closest to Kyiv which is where all this began on February 24 last year.

“Although it would appear that this matter is closed I think it is far from closed and the aftershocks will reverberate for quite some time.

“They (Ukraine) need to watch that flank very carefully and make sure they have got some manoeuvre units such that they could repel a renewed attack from the direction of Belarus.”

What is the Wagner group led by Yevgeny Prigozhin and why did they attack Russia?

Sunday 25 June 2023 09:59 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine have been supported on the battlefield by tens of thousands of mercenaries from a shadowy group led by a businessman and longtime affiliate of president Vladimir Putin.

The Wagner Group is a private military company under the control of Yevgeny Prigozhin that cut its teeth in deployments to Crimea and eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region in 2014 and has since dispatched troops to several conflicts in the Middle East and Africa, including the Syrian Civil War.

In Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Wagner has proved indispensable, but an apparent power struggle between the Kremlin and the outspoken Mr Prigozhin has led to the group having its wings clipped by Moscow.

What is the Wagner mercenary group led by Yevgeny Prigozhin?

All transport restrictions lifted in Russia’s Rostov region

Sunday 25 June 2023 09:48 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

All transport restrictions in Russia‘s Rostov region have been lifted, including those on highways, Russian news agencies reported on Sunday, citing local officials.

“Bus and railway stations are working in normal mode. Tickets are on sale, all destinations are on schedule,” Sergey Tyurin, deputy minister of regional policy and mass communications for the Rostov region was quoted as saying.

A civilian man killed in Russian shelling of Kherson - governor

Sunday 25 June 2023 09:09 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

A civilian man died after Russian forces shelled Ukraine‘s southern city of Kherson, local governor said on Sunday.

Ukraine recaptured the city of Kherson and parts of the Kherson region in November after months of Russian occupation, but Russian forces regularly shell the city and surrounding areas from the opposite side of Dnipro River.

“One of the shells exploded right in the middle of the room,” Oleksandr Prokudin said on the Telegram messaging app.

He said another woman was trapped under the rubble but alive.

Ukrainian authorities also reported that Russians shelled the south of Dnipropetrovsk region during the night, injuring one person and damaging three private houses.

Reuters was unable immediately to verify the report

Mapped: Inside Russian Wagner group’s road towards Moscow

Sunday 25 June 2023 08:45 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Wagner’s armed rebellion dramatically called off its march towards Moscow on Saturday as it abandoned a coup that saw soldiers take control of the military headquarters in both Rostov and Voronezh.

Rogue Russian mercenary fighters had their efforts labelled as “treason” by Vladimir Putin after the shock advance that began on Friday evening.

The mutiny, called off when troops were just four hours from the Russian capital in a deal brokered by Belarus, marked one of the most explosive episodes in the country’s war saga to date.

The move came after the group’s leader Yevgeny Prigozhin accused the Kremlin of deliberately bombing Wagner troops in Bakhmut.

Britain’s Ministry of Defence has called the instalment “the most significant challenge to the Russian state” in a series of events that are set to put the city firmly on the map.

Mapped: Inside Russian Wagner group’s road towards Moscow

Russia urges Moscow residents to avoid key highway until 0700 GMT

Sunday 25 June 2023 08:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russia‘s Federal Road Agency urged residents of the Moscow region on Sunday to refrain from travelling along the M-4 “Don” major expressway until 10 a.m. (0700 GMT).

The agency had said earlier in the day on the Telegram messaging app, in a post now deleted, that traffic restrictions on the highway in the Moscow and Tula regions remained.

Heavily armed Russian mercenaries who had advanced most of the way to Moscow on Saturday then halted their approach, de-escalating a major challenge to President Vladimir Putin’s grip on power, in a move their leader said would avoid bloodshed.

Zelensky says ‘scared' Putin ‘probably hiding somewhere’

Sunday 25 June 2023 08:23 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky has said Vladimir Putin is “probably hiding somewhere” after Wagner troops launched an armed rebellion on Saturday.

Before the rebel group’s chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin, called off the mutiny, there was speculation about Putin’s whereabouts.

In his daily address, Zelensky said: “The man from the Kremlin is obviously very scared and is probably hiding somewhere.”

Russian mercenary leader's exile ends revolt but leaves questions about Putin's power

Sunday 25 June 2023 08:00 , Namita Singh

The greatest challenge to Russian president Vladimir Putin in his more than two decades in power fizzled out after the rebellious mercenary commander who ordered his troops to march on Moscow abruptly reached a deal with the Kremlin to go into exile and sounded the retreat.

The brief revolt, though, exposed vulnerabilities among Russian government forces, with Wagner Group soldiers under the command of Yevgeny Prigozhin able to move unimpeded into the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and advance hundreds of kilometres toward Moscow. The Russian military scrambled to defend Russia’s capital.

Under the deal announced on Saturday by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Mr Prigozhin will go to neighboring Belarus, which has supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Charges against him of mounting an armed rebellion will be dropped.

Report:

Russian mercenary leader's exile ends revolt but leaves questions about Putin's power

Russia’s Rostov-on-Don calm after Prigozhin leaves

Sunday 25 June 2023 07:45 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The situation around the headquarters of Russia‘s Southern Military District in Rostov-on-Don was calm and street traffic resumed, RIA state news agency said on Sunday after Yevgeny Prigozhin and his mercenaries left the city.

In a video on the agency’s Telegram messaging app, which it said was taken in the city of Rostov-on-Don, a man was sweeping a street and cars were moving along another street.

Reuters could not independently verify the report.

Late on Saturday, Prigozhin, the head of Russia‘s Wagner mercenary group, was seen leaving the district military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don after halting a rebellion against Russia‘s military establishment.

Mapped: Inside Russian Wagner group’s road towards Moscow

Sunday 25 June 2023 07:30 , Namita Singh

Wagner’s armed rebellion dramatically called off its march towards Moscow on Saturday as it abandoned a coup that saw soldiers take control of the military headquarters in both Rostov and Voronezh.

Rogue Russian mercenary fighters had their efforts labelled as “treason” by Vladimir Putin after the shock advance that began on Friday evening.

The mutiny, called off when troops were just four hours from the Russian capital in a deal brokered by Belarus, marked one of the most explosive episodes in the country’s war saga to date.

The move came after the group’s leader Yevgeny Prigozhin accused the Kremlin of deliberately bombing Wagner troops in Bakhmut.

Report:

Mapped: Inside Russian Wagner group’s road towards Moscow

Russia urges Moscow residents to temporarily avoid key highway

Sunday 25 June 2023 07:07 , Namita Singh

Russia’s Federal Road Agency urged residents of the Moscow region on Sunday to refrain from travelling along the M-4 “Don” major expressway until 10am local time.

The agency had said earlier in the day on the Telegram messaging app, in a post now deleted, that traffic restrictions on the highway in the Moscow and Tula regions remained.

Heavily armed Russian mercenaries who had advanced most of the way to Moscow on Saturday then halted their approach, de-escalating a major challenge to president Vladimir Putin’s grip on power, in a move their leader said would avoid bloodshed.

Kremlin denies Putin has fled Moscow as Russia president’s plane ‘disappears’

Sunday 25 June 2023 06:30 , Namita Singh

The Kremlin has denied Vladimir Putin has fled Moscow by plane after claiming Russia is ‘facing treason’ from members of the mutinous Wagner group.

One of several planes that the Russian president uses for official visits took off from Moscow at 2.15pm local time, according to Flight Radar, which tracks aircraft in real-time.

Less than half an hour later, it went off radar about 150 kilometres from Putin’s official residence.

More in this report:

Kremlin denies Putin has fled Moscow as Russia president’s plane ‘disappears’

US briefed on Wagner forces days before rebellion started

Sunday 25 June 2023 05:59 , Namita Singh

US congressional leaders were reportedly briefed on a build-up of Wagner forces days before their commander claimed the attacks, which sparked their rebellion against Russia, took place.

Yevgeny Prigozhin said his mercenary group’s camps in Ukraine had been attacked by rival forces from the Russian military on Friday, leading to them taking over the strategic city of Rostov-on-Don and marching towards Moscow before a deal was agreed for them to withdraw.

But CNN and The New York Times reported that US intelligence briefings on Wagner building troops near the Russian border were taking place earlier in the week.

Mutiny, mayhem and panic on the streets of Moscow: Russia saved from brink of civil war at 11th hour

Sunday 25 June 2023 05:30 , Namita Singh

Russia appears to have stepped back from the brink of a full-scale armed mutiny after the Wagner Group, one of the world’s most powerful private armies, halted a march on Moscow started by a vow for revenge.

While the immediate threat seems to have been averted, the unprecedented attack on the Russian military establishment marks the most serious challenge to President Vladimir Putin in the 23 years he has ruled with an iron fist – and the crisis is unlikely to just disappear just because the military convoy halted about 200km (125 miles) from the Russian capital.

Earlier in an extraordinary day, a visibly angry Mr Putin made an emergency address to the nation railing against the attempted coup and said the very existence of the Russian state was at stake.

Our international correspondent Bel Trew reports from Kyiv:

Mutiny, mayhem and panic: Russia saved from brink of civil war