- Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin remains under investigation by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) after leading a rebellion over the weekend, Russian media reports.
- Russian defence minister Sergey Shoigu visits Russian troops in Ukraine, his first public appearance since the weekend mutiny.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he discussed Wagner with US President Joe Biden and suggests the events in Russia expose the weakness of Vladimir Putin’s rule.
- Ukraine says it has reclaimed some 130 square kilometres (50 square miles) from Russian forces along the southern front line since the war started.
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Ukraine’s Zelenskyy thanks Australia for $74 million package
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanks Australia for a military and humanitarian package worth $74 million.
On Twitter, Zelenskyy wrote, “I am grateful to the Government and personally to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for the decision to provide another package of military and humanitarian assistance totaling about $75 million. We appreciate this evidence of global support for Ukraine, as well as the contribution of all partner countries to bring our common victory closer.”
Putin speaks to leaders of Qatar, Iran: Russian media
Russian President Vladimir Putin has had a phone call with the Emir of Qatar, who expressed support for the Kremlin in relation to the Wagner mutiny on Saturday, the Russian RIA Novosti news agency reported.
Russian news agency Interfax also reported that Putin spoke with Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi, who expressed his full support for the Russian leadership.
Ukraine says forces retook village of Rivnopil
Ukrainian deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar says forces have liberated the southeastern village of Rivnopil from Russian control.
Earlier on Monday, Maliar said Ukrainian forces had liberated about 130 square kilometres (50 square miles) in the south of Ukraine since the counteroffensive began.
Rivnopil is west of a cluster of settlements that Ukraine says it recaptured this month after launching a counteroffensive.
UK prepared for ‘a range of scenarios in Russia’: PM
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says the United Kingdom is prepared for a range of scenarios in Russia following the potentially destabilising impact of the tensions between the Wagner Group and President Vladimir Putin.
“It’s too early to predict with certainty what the consequences of this might be, but of course we are prepared as we always would be for a range of scenarios,” Sunak told reporters.
“It’s a situation that we’ve been analysing and monitoring for some time because we’re aware of the potentially destabilising impact of Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine and indeed, the tensions between the Wagner Group and the Putin regime.”
Wagner mutiny highlights need for stronger eastern flank: Lithuania
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda says Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Wagner’s rebellion highlighted the need for a stronger NATO presence along the alliance’s eastern flank.
“This is the front line of NATO where there is no place for even the slightest security gap,” Nauseda said in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius following a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.
“Last weekend’s events in Russia have demonstrated the instability of the Kremlin regime.”
“This undoubtedly has implications for the security both in Lithuania and the region,” he added.
Lithuania borders the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad as well as Russian ally Belarus.
Russia faced a ‘challenge to its stability’: PM
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin says the country faced “a challenge to its stability” and must remain united behind President Vladimir Putin following the Wagner mutiny.
In what appears to be the first public comment by a senior Russian official, Mishustin appeared at a televised government meeting for national unity.
“The main thing in these conditions is to ensure the sovereignty and independence of our country, the security and well-being of citizens,” said Mishustin.
“For this, the consolidation of the whole of society is especially important; we need to act together, as one team, and maintain the unity of all forces, rallying around the president,” he said.
Mishustin added that “virtually the entire military, economic, information machine of the West is directed against us.”
Ukraine reiterates call for simplified NATO accession
The head of Ukraine’s presidential staff reiterated that Kyiv expects an invitation for a simplified accession to NATO when the alliance meets in July.
Andriy Yermak told a briefing for German media: “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.”
‘Prigozhin’s whereabouts are unknown’: Journalist
Journalist Yulia Shapovalova, reporting from Moscow, said an investigation into Prigozhin remains open following a mutiny over the weekend.
“At the moment, Prizgozhin’s whereabouts are unknown. But we have to wait and see what happens. It is interesting and could probably be called an active disobedience from the side of the Russian investigative committee and the FSB,” she said.
Shapovalova added that the video of Russian defence minister Sergey Shoigu visiting troops at the Luhansk front line “is ruling out theories of his possible resignation”.
‘Russia’s internal affair’: China on Wagner revolt
China’s foreign ministry says it has nothing to add about a possible phone call between Putin and Xi Jinping on the Wagner rebellion, Russian news agency TASS cited Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning as saying.
“The Wagner incident is Russia’s internal affair. As a friendly neighbour and comprehensive strategic partnership partner in the new era, China believes and supports Russia in maintaining national stability as well as achieving development and prosperity,” Mao said.
In response to a question about a call between the two leaders, Ning added, “I have no information to disseminate.”
Wagner mutiny fuelling ‘instability’ in Russia: EU foreign ministers
European Union foreign ministers said the aborted Wagner mutiny over the weekend was causing domestic instability in Russia and undermining its military power.
“The political system is showing fragilities, and the military power is cracking,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters in Luxembourg as he arrived for a meeting with ministers from across the 27-member bloc.
“It’s not a good thing to see that a nuclear power like Russia can go into a phase of political instability,” Borrell said, adding this was the moment for the EU to continue supporting Ukraine more than ever.
“The monster that [Russian President Vladimir Putin] created with Wagner, the monster is biting him now, the monster is acting against his creator.”
Ukrainian foreign minister urges EU to ‘accelerate Russia’s defeat’
Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba urged the European Union to “accelerate Russia’s defeat” by stepping up support for Ukraine.
On Twitter, Kuleba wrote: “Two events proved Ukraine will win. In Berdyansk, Ukrainian teenagers Tigran and Mykyta sacrificed their lives to resist occupation. In Russia, tanks rolled on Moscow with little resistance. At #FAC [Foreign Affairs Council], I urged the EU to accelerate Russia’s defeat by stepping up support for Ukraine.”
Prigozhin remains under FSB investigation: Kommersant
The leader of the Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, remains under investigation by the Federal Security Service (FSB) on suspicion of organising an armed mutiny, the Russian Kommersant newspaper reported, citing an unidentified source.
A case was opened on June 23 after Prigozhin announced a “march for justice” by his fighters against the Russian military leadership.
According to the Kremlin, the criminal charges were expected to be dropped in exchange for their return to camps and Prigozhin’s move to Belarus.
But Kommersant cited its source as saying there had not yet been time to change the case status.
Wagner mutiny shows Moscow’s ‘big strategic mistake’ in annexing Crimea, attacking Kyiv: NATO
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 has said.
“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: Report
Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin remains under investigation by the Federal Security Service (FSB) on suspicion of organising an armed mutiny, Russian newspaper Kommersant has reported, quoting an unidentified source.
The criminal case against Prigozhin was initiated after he announced a “march for justice” by his fighters against Russia’s military leadership.
As part of a deal, 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 quoted its source as saying there had not yet been time to change the status of the case.
‘All bets are off’: An uncertain future after Wagner mutiny
Following the short-lived mutiny of Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his government find themselves in unchartered territory.
The crisis appears to have been averted, for now, but what happens next to Russia and the Wagner Group remains uncertain.
Read here what experts say about the fate of the mercenary group.
Wagner crisis shows Ukraine war is ‘cracking Russian power’: EU
Wagner’s aborted mutiny shows that Moscow’s war in Ukraine is splintering Russian power, and instability in the nuclear-armed country is “not a good thing”, the EU’s top diplomat has said.
“What has happened during this weekend shows that the war against Ukraine is cracking Russian power and affecting its political system,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said at a meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers.
FSB detains Russian citizen for sending money to Ukraine for drones: RIA
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has said it had detained a Russian citizen on charges of sending money to Ukraine to buy drones and military equipment, state news agency RIA Novosti reported.
Moscow mayor cancels anti-terror regime in city
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said he was cancelling a counterterrorism regime imposed in the Russian capital during what the authorities called an armed mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group.
Sobyanin made the announcement in a statement posted on the Telegram messaging app.
Separately, Russia’s National Antiterrorism Committee said the situation in the country was “stable”.
What next after Wagner mutiny?
The leader of the Wagner mercenary group is leaving Russia for Belarus, after striking a deal with President Vladimir Putin to end the mutiny.
Yevgeny Prigozhin was cheered on by supporters as he left the southern city of Rostov-on-Don.
Under the agreement, both Prigozhin and his fighters will be spared prosecution and the troops have been instructed to return to their bases.
Is the crisis really over? How will it affect the war in Ukraine? And what’s the future for the Wagner group? Watch Inside Story for more.
Biden and Zelenskyy discuss recent events in Russia: White House
US President Joe Biden and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed “recent events in Russia”, the White House said, in the wake of a short-lived mutiny by Wagner Group fighters.
“They discussed Ukraine’s ongoing counteroffensive, and President Biden reaffirmed unwavering US support, including through continued security, economic, and humanitarian aid,” the readout said.
Ukraine reclaims 130sq km along southern front line: Ukrainian official
Ukraine has reclaimed some 130 square kilometres (50 square miles) from Russian forces along the southern front line since the start of the counteroffensive, Ukraine’s deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar has said.
“The situation in the south has not undergone significant changes over the past week,” Maliar told the national broadcaster.
She added that along the eastern part of the front line, which includes the Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Maryinka directions, about 250 combat clashes have taken place over the past week.
Russia defence minister visits troops after Wagner mutiny
Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu visited Russian troops involved in the military operation in Ukraine, the RIA Novosti news agency has reported, his first public appearance since the weekend mutiny by the Wagner paramilitary group.
RIA’s report, which cited Russia’s defence ministry, made it clear Shoigu remained in charge, but provided no details on when or where he met the troops and commanders of the Western military district.
Mutineers led by Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin advanced on Moscow to remove what they called Russia’s corrupt and incompetent military leadership, before suddenly heading back to a Russia-held area of eastern Ukraine after a deal with the Kremlin brokered by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko.
The deal included immunity for the mutineers in exchange for their return to camps, but it remains unclear whether Putin also agreed to reshuffle the top military leadership or make any other concessions.
Russia-Ukraine war live: Wagner mutiny case ‘remains open’
