Russia-Ukraine war live: Russia releases video of defence minister in Ukraine in aftermath of Wagner rebellion

Video released of Russian defence minister Shoigu visiting troops in Ukraine

Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu has visited troops in Ukraine, Russian news agency Ria has reported, his first public appearance since the Wagner mutiny at the weekend.

Shoigu has not commented on the rebellion, during which Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin demanded that the defence minister meet him in Rostov before calling off the mutiny.

In a post on Telegram, Ria reported that Shoigu met Colonel-General Nikiforov, commander of the ‘western’ grouping:

The minister also paid special attention to the organization of support for the troops involved in the special military operation and the creation of conditions for the safe deployment of personnel.

In a video released by the Russian defence ministry, Shoigu is described as being in the western sector of the “special military operation” – Russia’s preferred term for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. There is nothing in the video which gives an indication of where or when it was filmed.

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.

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“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.

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Reuters reports he added: “As Russia continues its assault, it is even more important to continue our support to Ukraine.”

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

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Sobyanin made the announcement in a statement posted on the Telegram messaging application on Monday, in which he thanked residents for their “calmness and understanding.”

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Reuters reports that separately, Russia’s national anti-terrorism committee said the situation in the country was “stable”.

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• This is Martin Belam taking over the live blog in London. You can contact me at [email protected].

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Chinese officials have described the abandoned Wagner rebellion as Moscow’s “internal affairs”, while one state media mouthpiece dismissed the divisions in Russia as an “illusion” being exploited by the west.

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Russia’s deputy foreign minister Andrei Rudenko held previously unannounced talks in Beijing on Sunday. It was not clear if they had been planned in advance or came as a result of the Wagner mutiny.

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China’s foreign ministry said it supported Russia in maintaining its national stability, without explicitly referring to Putin’s leadership.

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“As a friendly neighbour and comprehensive strategic partner in the new era, China supports Russia in maintaining national stability and achieving development and prosperity,” it said.

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Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu has visited troops in Ukraine, Russian news agency Ria has reported, his first public appearance since the Wagner mutiny at the weekend.

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Shoigu has not commented on the rebellion, during which Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin demanded that the defence minister meet him in Rostov before calling off the mutiny.

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In a post on Telegram, Ria reported that Shoigu met Colonel-General Nikiforov, commander of the ‘western’ grouping:

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The minister also paid special attention to the organization of support for the troops involved in the special military operation and the creation of conditions for the safe deployment of personnel.

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In a video released by the Russian defence ministry, Shoigu is described as being in the western sector of the “special military operation” – Russia’s preferred term for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. There is nothing in the video which gives an indication of where or when it was filmed.

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The Russian rouble has opened at a near 15-month low against the dollar in early morning trade on Monday, responding for the first time to the Wagner mutiny, according to Reuters.

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By 0415 GMT, the rouble was 2.1% weaker against the dollar at 86.50, after earlier hitting 87.2300, its weakest point since late March 2022. It had lost 2.2% to trade at 94.37 versus the euro and shed 2.1% against the yuan to 11.95.

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More from Reuters:

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n

With the rouble not trading over the weekend, Russian banks were offering exchange rates well above official rate beyond 90 to the dollar.

n

Monday’s full trading session begins at 0700 GMT. Investors globally were watching for ripple effects from the aborted mutiny, with some expecting a move into safe havens such as US government bonds and the dollar.

n

Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia’s main export, was up 0.2% at $74.03 a barrel.

n

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Ukraine’s military says it has advanced between 600 metres and 1,000 metres on the southern and northern flanks around Bakhmut, the city which was taken by Wagner forces in May.

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The military also reported advances in the area on Saturday, as Wagner forces were marching on Moscow. It was not possible to verify the reports.

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AFP reported fierce clashes in the area on Sunday, with Ukrainian soldiers telling the news agency that the Wagner mutiny had not noticeably affected fighting in the area.

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“As it attacked yesterday, Russia continued to attack today,” one soldier said, adding. “Most people, most military, understand very well that the circus from Russia is still here.” Another said that for Ukraine, the fighting was going “according to plan”.

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Kyiv has said that the unrest in Russia offered a “window of opportunity” for its long-awaited counter-offensive.

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advances up to 1km near Bakhmut”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Mon 26 Jun 2023 04.07 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Mon 26 Jun 2023 00.32 EDT”},{“id”:”6498d2808f084ea43c440419″,”elements”:[{[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine and the crisis in Russia.

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Ukraine’s military says it has advanced between 600 metres and 1,000 metres on the southern and northern flanks around Bakhmut, the city which was taken by Wagner forces in May. The military also reported advances in the area on Saturday, as Wagner forces were marching on Moscow. It was not possible to verify the reports.

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AFP reported fierce clashes in the area on Sunday, with Ukrainian soldiers telling the news agency that the Wagner mutiny had not noticeably affected fighting in the area. “As it attacked yesterday, Russia continued to attack today,” one soldier said, while another said that for Ukraine, the fighting was going “according to plan”.

“,”elementId”:”1cc1dcbe-732b-4c09-aaa4-25d15c0be2c6″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

The Russian rouble has opened at a near 15-month low against the dollar in early morning trading on Monday, responding for the first time to the rebellion.

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At 0402 GMT, the rouble was 2.1% weaker against the dollar at 86.37, hitting 86.8800 on market opening, its weakest point since late March 2022, Reuters reported.

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In other key developments:

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n

• US secretary of state Antony Blinken has said the Wagner uprising showed “real cracks” in Vladimir Putin’s government and may offer Ukraine a crucial advantage as it conducts a counteroffensive that could influence the outcome of the war. “This is an unfolding story and I think we’re in the midst of a moving picture,” Blinken told the CBS News programme Face the Nation. “We haven’t seen the last act.”

n

• There has been no word from Putin or Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin since the rebellion ended and their whereabouts are unclear. Putin appeared on Russian state TV on Sunday but the comments appeared to have been recorded before the mutiny. In an interview broadcast on state television he made no reference to the rebellion but renewed his commitment to the war in Ukraine, calling the “special military operation” his top priority.

n

• Lithuanian president Gitanas Nausėda warned that Nato would need to strengthen its eastern flank if Prigozhin is exiled to Belarus as agreed with Moscow. Following a state security council meeting on the mercenary group’s attempt to revolt against Russian military leadership, Nausėda 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.”

n

• State television also said Putin would attend a meeting of Russia’s Security Council this week, without elaborating. Belarus’ Belta news agency said Putin and President Alexander Lukashenko, who negotiated with Prigozhin to end the mutiny, spoke again on Sunday, after at least two calls on Saturday.

n

• The weekend’s events have “exposed the weakness of Putin’s regime”, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has said, saying he had discussed the turmoil in Russia in a phone call with the US president, Joe Biden. In a statement, Zelenskiy called for global pressure to be exerted on Russia and said that he and Biden had also discussed expanding defence cooperation with an emphasis on long-range weapons.

n

• The Ukrainian president said he had also held “positive conversations” with Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau and Polish president Andrzej Duda. They discussed “hostilities on the frontline” and the “further strengthening of Ukrainian troops”.

n

• France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, said that the revolt highlighted divisions within the Russian government. Speaking to the Provence newspaper on Sunday, Macron said that Wagner’s march to Moscow “shows the divisions that exist within the Russian camp, and the fragility of both its military and its auxiliary forces.”

n

• Ukraine’s defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, said he spoke to US defence secretary Lloyd Austin on Sunday, and described the Russian authorities as “weak”. Reznikov wrote on Twitter: “We talked about recent events in Russia. We agree that the Russian authorities are weak and that withdrawing Russian troops from Ukraine is the best choice for the Kremlin. Russia would be better served to address its own issues.”

n

• Russian officials said that houses and roads had been damaged because of the rebellion by the Wagner mercenaries. Nineteen houses had been damaged in the village of Yelizavetovka as a result of a firefight involving Wagner forces while about 10,000 square metres of roads in Rostov had been damaged by tank tracks.

n

“,”elementId”:”a44de495-ba63-46a3-81b1-370630c3d276″}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1687753935000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”00.32 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1687753823000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”00.30 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1687753935000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”00.32 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”00.32″,”title”:”Opening summary”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Mon 26 Jun 2023 04.07 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Mon 26 Jun 2023 00.32 EDT”}],”filterKeyEvents”:false,”format”:{“display”:0,”theme”:0,”design”:10},”id”:”key-events-carousel-mobile”}”>

Key events

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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.

Reuters reports he added: “As Russia continues its assault, it is even more important to continue our support to Ukraine.”

A couple of prominent Russian military bloggers on Telegram have suggested that defence minister Sergei Shoigu was known to be visiting the Belgorod region on the border with Ukraine on Friday, and that the images and video released today by the Russian defence ministry may date from that trip, which would have occurred before the Wagner mutiny.

Nevertheless, at the FT’s Moscow bureau chief Max Seddon notes, the fact the video has been released is clearly intended to send a signal about the status of Shoigu.

Here are some of the images released officially by Russia which they claim show defence minister Sergei Shoigu visiting occupied Ukraine.

The location and date the video was taken are unverified.

Events over the weekend show that Russia’s military power is “cracking” and the “monster Putin has created is turning against him”, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, Josep Borrell has said.

But he warned that the instability in Russia was dangerous and must be taken into account in the coming days and weeks.

“What is happening in Russia, it is important to understand that this is cracking the Russian military power and affecting its political system. And certainly it is not it’s not a good thing to see that a nuclear power like Russia is going into a phase of political instability,” he said on arrival at a summit of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.

“The most important conclusion is the war against Ukraine launched by Putin and the monster that Putin created with Wagner, the monster is fighting, the monster is acting against his creator. The political system it’s showing its fragilities and the military power is cracking,” he added.

The cancelled mutiny in Russia will be top of the agenda at the Luxembourg summit of ministers who are expected to rapprove a pledge to give more funds to Ukraine’s military option.

They are also expected to approve the 11th round of sanctions against Russia, aimed at stopping Putin circumventing previous sanctions by using third countries to shop crude oil and other products around the world.

Citing Russia’s state-owned RIA news agency, Reuters reports that Russian security forces claim to have detained a Russian citizen on charges of sending money to Ukraine to buy drones and military equipment.

Suspilne, Ukraine’s state broadcaster, offers this round-up of overnight news from Ukraine:

At night, Russia attacked Ukraine from the south with three Kalibr cruise missiles and eight Shahed drones – two missiles and seven drones were shot down. Also, four drones of an unknown type were launched from the north, all of them were shot down.

Air defence forces were working in Odesa, one missile and a drone hit “certain objects” in the region the spokesperson for the air force command of the armed forces of Ukraine, said. There were no reports of injuries.

At dawn, Russian troops dropped prohibited incendiary shells on Kherson and Antonivka, fires broke out. Olhivka was also hit at night, one person was injured.

The claims have not been independently verified.

Moscow’s mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, said he was cancelling the 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, in which he thanked residents for their “calmness and understanding.”

Reuters reports that separately, Russia’s national anti-terrorism committee said the situation in the country was “stable”.

• This is Martin Belam taking over the live blog in London. You can contact me at [email protected].

More than 17,000 Ukrainian recruits have been trained by Britain and other allies over the last year to help fight Russia’s invasion, the UK Ministry of Defence said on Monday, according to AFP.

The recruits, from many different walks of life, all went through a “gruelling” five-week programme which the ministry said had transformed them “from civilians to soldiers”.

Britain and nine partner nations – Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Lithuania and the Netherlands – opened the initiative for new volunteer recruits to the armed forces of Ukraine in June last year.

The UK-led training programme, dubbed Operation Interflex, taught the recruits, who had little to no previous military experience, various skills including weapons handling, battlefield first aid and patrol tactics.

“The determination and resilience of the Ukrainian recruits that arrive on British soil, from all walks of life, to train to fight alongside our British and international forces, is humbling to witness,” the UK defence secretary, Ben Wallace, said.

“The UK and our international partners will continue to provide this vital support, helping Ukraine defend against Russian aggression, for as long as it takes.”

Britain initially offered to train up to 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers in battlefield skills, based on the UK’s basic soldier training.

The programme has now been extended and is on track to train about 30,000 recruits by 2024, according to the British defence ministry.

It said intelligence had shown that the training made “a significant difference to the combat effectiveness of Ukraine”.

“The UK armed forces maintains close communication with Ukraine to improve and evolve the course based on the skills most needed on the battlefield,” the ministry added.

Chinese officials have described the abandoned Wagner rebellion as Moscow’s “internal affairs”, while one state media mouthpiece dismissed the divisions in Russia as an “illusion” being exploited by the west.

Russia’s deputy foreign minister Andrei Rudenko held previously unannounced talks in Beijing on Sunday. It was not clear if they had been planned in advance or came as a result of the Wagner mutiny.

China’s foreign ministry said it supported Russia in maintaining its national stability, without explicitly referring to Putin’s leadership.

“As a friendly neighbour and comprehensive strategic partner in the new era, China supports Russia in maintaining national stability and achieving development and prosperity,” it said.

It’s still unclear exactly what the terms of the deal to end the rebellion mean for Wagner, but the ISW suggests that the fact that Wagner troops are returning to base with their equipment means that the Kremlin intends to maintain at least elements of the group, rather than immediately demobilising them.

It noted that the head of the Duma defence committee, Andrei Kartapolov, on Sunday announced it was working on a law to regulate private military companies but emphasised it was not necessary to ban the Wagner Group as it is “the most combat-ready unit in Russia.”

He also said that Wagner forces in Rostov were “following orders of their command” and “did nothing reprehensible.”

Kartapolov’s efforts to absolve Wagner personnel of responsibility for taking part in an armed rebellion and separate them from Prigozhin may indicate the Russian government’s desire to continue to use Wagner personnel in some capacity, and as ISW assessed on June 24, the Russian leadership could redeploy Wagner to Ukraine or instead commit them to international missions

Ukraine has reclaimed some 130 square kilometres (50 square miles) from Russian forces along the southern front line since the start of the counteroffensive, Ukrainian deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar has said according to Reuters.

“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 had taken place over the past week.

A bit more context on Sergei Shoigu, the Russian defence minister who in many ways was at the centre of the Wagner rebellion.

As the Guardian’s Pjotr Sauer explained in this report on Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin’s accusations against the leadership of the Russian military, the pair have been at loggerheads for months.

Prigozhin has repeatedly accused the defence ministry of denying him the ammunition his men needed in Ukraine and of sacrificing Russian soldiers in missions doomed to fail.

But in a series of audio messages beginning on Thursday and continuing on Friday, Prigozhin also accused the ministry of lying to the public about its justifications for invading Ukraine.

The invasion had nothing to do with denazifying Ukraine nor was it launched because Ukraine was about to attack Russia – rather it was due to Shoigu’s desire for a second “hero of Russia” medal, he said.

“What was the war for? The war needed for Shoigu to receive a hero star … The oligarchic clan that rules Russia needed the war,” Prigozhin said.

“The mentally ill scumbags decided: ‘It’s OK, we’ll throw in a few thousand more Russian men as cannon fodder. They’ll die under artillery fire, but we’ll get what we want,’” Prigozhin continued.

The Kremlin “likely risks Prigozhin’s armed rebellion expanding the window of acceptable anti-Kremlin criticism,” the Institute for the Study of War has said in its latest analysis, particularly if the Kremlin does not retaliate further against the Wagner leader.

The US thinktank used the example of a pre-planned meeting by the ultranationalist Angry Patriots Club in Moscow on Sunday, at which former Russian officer Igor Girkin reiterated that Putin needs to legally transfer certain presidential authorities to other parties if he is unwilling to assume control over the war in Ukraine as the supreme commander-in-chief.

Officials were likely aware of the event as the club had been promoting it for weeks, the ISW noted, adding:

If the Kremlin intends to use Prigozhin’s rebellion as pretext to start immediately suppressing antagonistic ultranationalists, then this event would have likely been a prime candidate to start that effort …

The Kremlin’s continued careful response to the armed rebellion will likely prompt other Russian nationalists to test Russian official reactions to more explicitly critical rhetoric.

The Australian government has pledged a new $110m military assistance package in the next round of support for Ukraine, including vehicles, ammunition and humanitarian funding.

“This package responds to Ukraine’s requests for vehicles and ammunition, and will make a tangible difference on the battlefield,” the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said in a statement.

Canberra has committed 70 military vehicles, including 28 M113 armoured vehicles, 14 special operations vehicles, 28 MAN 40M medium trucks and 14 trailers; a new supply of 105mm artillery ammunition; and $10m to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs – for the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund – to assist in the provision of shelter, health services, water and sanitation.

“We support international efforts to ensure [Russian president Vladimir] Putin’s aggression fails and that Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity prevails,” Albanese said.

The government said the latest commitment took Australia’s total contribution to Ukraine to $790m, including $610m in military assistance.

Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu has visited troops in Ukraine, Russian news agency Ria has reported, his first public appearance since the Wagner mutiny at the weekend.

Shoigu has not commented on the rebellion, during which Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin demanded that the defence minister meet him in Rostov before calling off the mutiny.

In a post on Telegram, Ria reported that Shoigu met Colonel-General Nikiforov, commander of the ‘western’ grouping:

The minister also paid special attention to the organization of support for the troops involved in the special military operation and the creation of conditions for the safe deployment of personnel.

In a video released by the Russian defence ministry, Shoigu is described as being in the western sector of the “special military operation” – Russia’s preferred term for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. There is nothing in the video which gives an indication of where or when it was filmed.

The Russian rouble has opened at a near 15-month low against the dollar in early morning trade on Monday, responding for the first time to the Wagner mutiny, according to Reuters.

By 0415 GMT, the rouble was 2.1% weaker against the dollar at 86.50, after earlier hitting 87.2300, its weakest point since late March 2022. It had lost 2.2% to trade at 94.37 versus the euro and shed 2.1% against the yuan to 11.95.

More from Reuters:

With the rouble not trading over the weekend, Russian banks were offering exchange rates well above official rate beyond 90 to the dollar.

Monday’s full trading session begins at 0700 GMT. Investors globally were watching for ripple effects from the aborted mutiny, with some expecting a move into safe havens such as US government bonds and the dollar.

Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia’s main export, was up 0.2% at $74.03 a barrel.

Ukraine’s military says it has advanced between 600 metres and 1,000 metres on the southern and northern flanks around Bakhmut, the city which was taken by Wagner forces in May.

The military also reported advances in the area on Saturday, as Wagner forces were marching on Moscow. It was not possible to verify the reports.

AFP reported fierce clashes in the area on Sunday, with Ukrainian soldiers telling the news agency that the Wagner mutiny had not noticeably affected fighting in the area.

“As it attacked yesterday, Russia continued to attack today,” one soldier said, adding. “Most people, most military, understand very well that the circus from Russia is still here.” Another said that for Ukraine, the fighting was going “according to plan”.

Kyiv has said that the unrest in Russia offered a “window of opportunity” for its long-awaited counter-offensive.

Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine and the crisis in Russia.

Ukraine’s military says it has advanced between 600 metres and 1,000 metres on the southern and northern flanks around Bakhmut, the city which was taken by Wagner forces in May. The military also reported advances in the area on Saturday, as Wagner forces were marching on Moscow. It was not possible to verify the reports.

AFP reported fierce clashes in the area on Sunday, with Ukrainian soldiers telling the news agency that the Wagner mutiny had not noticeably affected fighting in the area. “As it attacked yesterday, Russia continued to attack today,” one soldier said, while another said that for Ukraine, the fighting was going “according to plan”.

The Russian rouble has opened at a near 15-month low against the dollar in early morning trading on Monday, responding for the first time to the rebellion.

At 0402 GMT, the rouble was 2.1% weaker against the dollar at 86.37, hitting 86.8800 on market opening, its weakest point since late March 2022, Reuters reported.

In other key developments:

• US secretary of state Antony Blinken has said the Wagner uprising showed “real cracks” in Vladimir Putin’s government and may offer Ukraine a crucial advantage as it conducts a counteroffensive that could influence the outcome of the war. “This is an unfolding story and I think we’re in the midst of a moving picture,” Blinken told the CBS News programme Face the Nation. “We haven’t seen the last act.”

• There has been no word from Putin or Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin since the rebellion ended and their whereabouts are unclear. Putin appeared on Russian state TV on Sunday but the comments appeared to have been recorded before the mutiny. In an interview broadcast on state television he made no reference to the rebellion but renewed his commitment to the war in Ukraine, calling the “special military operation” his top priority.

• Lithuanian president Gitanas Nausėda warned that Nato would need to strengthen its eastern flank if Prigozhin is exiled to Belarus as agreed with Moscow. Following a state security council meeting on the mercenary group’s attempt to revolt against Russian military leadership, Nausėda 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.”

• State television also said Putin would attend a meeting of Russia’s Security Council this week, without elaborating. Belarus’ Belta news agency said Putin and President Alexander Lukashenko, who negotiated with Prigozhin to end the mutiny, spoke again on Sunday, after at least two calls on Saturday.

• The weekend’s events have “exposed the weakness of Putin’s regime”, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has said, saying he had discussed the turmoil in Russia in a phone call with the US president, Joe Biden. In a statement, Zelenskiy called for global pressure to be exerted on Russia and said that he and Biden had also discussed expanding defence cooperation with an emphasis on long-range weapons.

• The Ukrainian president said he had also held “positive conversations” with Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau and Polish president Andrzej Duda. They discussed “hostilities on the frontline” and the “further strengthening of Ukrainian troops”.

• France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, said that the revolt highlighted divisions within the Russian government. Speaking to the Provence newspaper on Sunday, Macron said that Wagner’s march to Moscow “shows the divisions that exist within the Russian camp, and the fragility of both its military and its auxiliary forces.”

• Ukraine’s defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, said he spoke to US defence secretary Lloyd Austin on Sunday, and described the Russian authorities as “weak”. Reznikov wrote on Twitter: “We talked about recent events in Russia. We agree that the Russian authorities are weak and that withdrawing Russian troops from Ukraine is the best choice for the Kremlin. Russia would be better served to address its own issues.”

• Russian officials said that houses and roads had been damaged because of the rebellion by the Wagner mercenaries. Nineteen houses had been damaged in the village of Yelizavetovka as a result of a firefight involving Wagner forces while about 10,000 square metres of roads in Rostov had been damaged by tank tracks.