Russia-Ukraine war live: transport restraints lifted in Russian region previously controlled by Wagner after Prigozhin calls off mutiny

All transport restrictions lifted in region previously controlled by Wagner mutineers

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.

Independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta is reporting that PMC Wagner’s military hardware damaged over 10,000 square metres (6.2 square miles) of road surface.

In Rostov-on-Don, PMC Wagner’s military hardware damaged over 10,000 square metres of road surface
According to Mayor Alexey Logvinenko, the repairs will begin today, the plan is for them to be finished in two days.https://t.co/0cZacHDtf7 pic.twitter.com/xvVYUGBne1

— Novaya Gazeta Europe (@novayagazeta_en) June 25, 2023″,”url”:”https://twitter.com/novayagazeta_en/status/1672886597300150272?s=20″,”id”:”1672886597300150272″,”hasMedia”:false,”role”:”inline”,”isThirdPartyTracking”:false,”source”:”Twitter”,”elementId”:”7a71baa1-86f9-4550-bcaa-760bb1ae4259″}}”>

In Rostov-on-Don, PMC Wagner’s military hardware damaged over 10,000 square metres of road surface
According to Mayor Alexey Logvinenko, the repairs will begin today, the plan is for them to be finished in two days.https://t.co/0cZacHDtf7 pic.twitter.com/xvVYUGBne1

— Novaya Gazeta Europe (@novayagazeta_en) June 25, 2023

It cites Mayor Alexey Logvinenko as saying it is expected that repairs to the road will take two days.

The Wagner fighters had captured the city of Rostov overnight on Friday and had reportedly maintained complete control of the region on Saturday.

But on Saturday night, Wagner fighters loaded tanks on trailers and began withdrawing from the Rostov military headquarters they had seized, a Reuters witness said.

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

“,”elementId”:”a152df4e-f13d-4447-b282-12c32a1b360c”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

“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.

“,”elementId”:”50e008f7-7a6c-4a1b-8129-7f95cbfc22b4″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta is reporting that PMC Wagner’s military hardware damaged over 10,000 square metres (6.2 square miles) of road surface.

“,”elementId”:”2823424a-84b0-444b-87bc-869b142ecec2″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TweetBlockElement”,”html”:”

In Rostov-on-Don, PMC Wagner’s military hardware damaged over 10,000 square metres of road surface
According to Mayor Alexey Logvinenko, the repairs will begin today, the plan is for them to be finished in two days.https://t.co/0cZacHDtf7 pic.twitter.com/xvVYUGBne1

— Novaya Gazeta Europe (@novayagazeta_en) June 25, 2023

“,”url”:”https://twitter.com/novayagazeta_en/status/1672886597300150272?s=20″,”id”:”1672886597300150272″,”hasMedia”:false,”role”:”inline”,”isThirdPartyTracking”:false,”source”:”Twitter”,”elementId”:”43fcb6da-b3be-4610-805b-e7398aa104a8″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

It cites Mayor Alexey Logvinenko as saying it is expected that repairs to the road will take two days.

“,”elementId”:”f8a27e5e-2868-42b4-a100-a7a6b0d75aa9″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

The Wagner fighters had captured the city of Rostov overnight on Friday and had reportedly maintained complete control of the region on Saturday.

“,”elementId”:”83b6cab3-c945-4710-8e24-1008a079c03a”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

But on Saturday night, Wagner fighters loaded tanks on trailers and began withdrawing from the Rostov military headquarters they had seized, a Reuters witness said.

“,”elementId”:”48a78a3d-84ab-4253-a431-9d62befbd9e4″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement”,”media”:{“allImages”:[{“index”:0,”fields”:{“height”:”3611″,”width”:”6016″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://lifewrap.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/localimages/140.jpg64981a20efe06.jpg”}]},”data”:{“alt”:”Members of the Wagner Group prepare to depart from the Southern Military District’s headquarters and return to their base on June 24 2023 in Rostov-on-Don, Russia.”,”caption”:”Members of the Wagner Group prepare to depart from the Southern Military District’s headquarters and return to their base on June 24 2023 in Rostov-on-Don, Russia.”,”credit”:”Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images”},”displayCredit”:true,”role”:”inline”,”imageSources”:[{“weighting”:”inline”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=4f1dfe5b0b7437053fb99ec5087db9fe”,”width”:620},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=163c9af7e5a024703046692e654e1606″,”width”:1240},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=605&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=c9a09758b9f439ab0dd254e532ade8fb”,”width”:605},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=605&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=c9f2fe314ee2afcc3f0e441e1382e9e5″,”width”:1210},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=445&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=0526679ca305b903e27d4157fe2f9eee”,”width”:445},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=445&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=498810d6f51b6ad6b187cb8be6e234be”,”width”:890}]},{“weighting”:”thumbnail”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=5555af019ef169e347f147b66e1caa36″,”width”:140},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=140&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=b48a08c60b8d8a644fcf2d9192974520″,”width”:280},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=120&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=24fce46837f4a6ce144620478abfa41c”,”width”:120},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=120&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=11c47978733809b7694a5d87ae5f07b4″,”width”:240}]},{“weighting”:”supporting”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=380&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=c588734fd3eddc5c07ea5ace3674fbf0″,”width”:380},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=380&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=df09dc5699f1fa3b701b2b4e1671c0fc”,”width”:760},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=16c82f89160d447771610ff4df133d32″,”width”:300},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=300&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=93a7eca5a8a987df3ef40d68614d2bf6″,”width”:600},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=4f1dfe5b0b7437053fb99ec5087db9fe”,”width”:620},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=163c9af7e5a024703046692e654e1606″,”width”:1240},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=605&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=c9a09758b9f439ab0dd254e532ade8fb”,”width”:605},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=605&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=c9f2fe314ee2afcc3f0e441e1382e9e5″,”width”:1210},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=445&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=0526679ca305b903e27d4157fe2f9eee”,”width”:445},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=445&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=498810d6f51b6ad6b187cb8be6e234be”,”width”:890}]},{“weighting”:”showcase”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=860&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=b15afa4fa2c8a7c11327e56dbf7c6ae6″,”width”:860},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=860&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=97f6c9efa31c57da0da79ef8cf235c67″,”width”:1720},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=780&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=66fcd8a3db3361831d18e36b869f5026″,”width”:780},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=780&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=adbee7bf647ad56a2096390cdd593ed2″,”width”:1560},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=4f1dfe5b0b7437053fb99ec5087db9fe”,”width”:620},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=163c9af7e5a024703046692e654e1606″,”width”:1240},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=605&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=c9a09758b9f439ab0dd254e532ade8fb”,”width”:605},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=605&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=c9f2fe314ee2afcc3f0e441e1382e9e5″,”width”:1210},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=445&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=0526679ca305b903e27d4157fe2f9eee”,”width”:445},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=445&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=498810d6f51b6ad6b187cb8be6e234be”,”width”:890}]},{“weighting”:”halfwidth”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=4f1dfe5b0b7437053fb99ec5087db9fe”,”width”:620},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=163c9af7e5a024703046692e654e1606″,”width”:1240},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=605&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=c9a09758b9f439ab0dd254e532ade8fb”,”width”:605},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=605&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=c9f2fe314ee2afcc3f0e441e1382e9e5″,”width”:1210},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=445&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=0526679ca305b903e27d4157fe2f9eee”,”width”:445},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=445&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=498810d6f51b6ad6b187cb8be6e234be”,”width”:890}]},{“weighting”:”immersive”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=1900&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=4bc310d7f0e61aab00d940ff244a07b9″,”width”:1900},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=1900&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=c4691f272a956cbdd2aff810aa47c456″,”width”:3800},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=1300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=49c200de949d2bbafb992026e42ad48b”,”width”:1300},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=1300&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=a6e0dbd3c455b3124e1af941eeb77576″,”width”:2600},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=1140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=2a00d6be1611c0c8671115cf8f4516b9″,”width”:1140},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=1140&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=0c5ed930f4fb18199b7869ef984bfcf1″,”width”:2280},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=980&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=84da27b5616ab04c5ce142cfe4c40548″,”width”:980},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=980&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=0ed32cc8406d0603236445432d9f9552″,”width”:1960},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=740&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=443d968069e19fc2417c887a257cd333″,”width”:740},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=740&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=4bcf738a5cd323c2d634849f5985dd46″,”width”:1480},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=660&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=7909bee0b84f4e1589e97109f9c3bd4d”,”width”:660},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=660&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=b46e18b2c00cf272d51a0bcf0cb34f11″,”width”:1320},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=480&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=b5fdf4cf3379980e8fadf5ed48c769a7″,”width”:480},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b9a5fadcf743f20e0c19c283779bdf383fa9e064/0_356_6016_3611/master/6016.jpg?width=480&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=f775fba9d665ccc61fa911566b26d10e”,”width”:960}]}],”elementId”:”fd57c034-fc5e-4511-b4e7-d060d6ad38a3″}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:true,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1687682056000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”04.34 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1687682739000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”04.45 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1687682254000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”04.37 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”04.37″,”title”:”All transport restrictions lifted in region previously controlled by Wagner mutineers”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Sun 25 Jun 2023 06.27 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Sat 24 Jun 2023 21.19 EDT”},{“id”:”6497d6e88f08c081c5bb7e3a”,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

If you’re just joining us, here’s a roundup of all the latest developments:

“,”elementId”:”1719082a-e69b-46f7-9222-476f8533add1″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

n

• In an abrupt about-face, Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said he had called off his troops’ march on Moscow and ordered them to move out of Rostov. Under a deal brokered by Belarus, Prigozhin agreed to leave Russia and move to Belarus. He will not face charges and Wagner troops who took part in the rebellion will not face any action in recognition of their previous service to Russia.

n

• In a statement, Prigozhin said that he wanted to avoid the spilling of “Russian blood”. “Now the moment has come when blood can be shed,” he said. “Therefore, realising all the responsibility for the fact that Russian blood will be shed from one side, we will turn our convoys around and go in the opposite direction to our field camps.”

n

• The Wagner leader was later pictured leaving the headquarters of the southern military district (SMD) in Rostov, which his forces had occupied on Saturday. Wagner forces also shot down three military helicopters and had entered the Lipetsk region, about 360km (225 miles) south of Moscow, before they were called back.

n

• Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko’s press office was the first to announce that Prigozhin would be backing down, saying that Lukashenko had negotiated a de-escalation with the Wagner head after talking to Russian president Vladimir Putin. Lukashenko said that Putin has since thanked him for his negotiation efforts.

n

• Putin has not publicly commented on Lukashenko’s deal with Prigozhin. He appeared on television earlier on Saturday in an emergency broadcast, issuing a nationwide call for unity in the face of a mutinous strike that he compared to the revolution of 1917. “Any internal mutiny is a deadly threat to our state, to us as a nation,” he said.

n

• Putin reportedly took a plane out of Moscow heading north-west on Saturday afternoon. It is unclear where he went or his current whereabouts.

n

• Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that Putin was “obviously very afraid” and “probably hiding”. In his latest evening address, Zelenskiy said: “Today the world saw that the bosses of Russia do not control anything. Nothing at all. Complete chaos. Complete absence of any predictability. And it is happening on Russian territory, which is fully loaded with weapons.”

n

• US spy agencies picked up information suggesting the Wagner leader was planning to take action against Russia’s military leadership as early as mid-June, US media has reported. The Washington Post and New York Times that said US intelligence officials had conducted briefings at the White House, the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill about the potential for unrest in nuclear-armed Russia a full day before it unfolded.

n

• Analysts have been confounded by events, with most saying it is too early to say whether Putin will fall but agreeing that he has been substantially damaged by the mutiny. The Institute for the Study of War noted that the Kremlin struggled to put together a coherent response to the mutiny and that “Wagner likely could have reached the outskirts of Moscow if Prigozhin chose to order them to do so.”

n

• Ukraine’s military said on Saturday its forces made advances near Bakhmut, on the eastern front, and further south. Deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar said an offensive was launched near a group of villages ringing Bakhmut, which was taken by Wagner forces in May after months of fighting. Oleksandr Tarnavskiy, commander of the southern front, said Ukrainian forces had liberated an area near Krasnohorivka, west of the Russian-held regional centre of Donetsk.

n

“,”elementId”:”15525bd9-ed3e-4989-bc74-69d2d008cb9b”}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1687672552000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”01.55 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1687675934000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”02.52 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1687675935000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”02.52 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”02.52″,”title”:”Summary”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Sun 25 Jun 2023 06.27 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Sat 24 Jun 2023 21.19 EDT”},{“id”:”6497b9be8f08657ec732270e”,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

The Kremlin struggled to put together a coherent response to the Wagner mutiny “highlighting internal security weaknesses likely due to surprise and the impact of heavy losses in Ukraine,” the Institute for the Study of War has said in its latest analysis of the conflict.

“,”elementId”:”9306993f-e598-4301-9ed2-e8af39fe7790″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Russian authorities mobilised Rosgvardia, the Russian National Police, the US thinktank wrote, but “ISW has not observed any reports or footage suggesting that Rosgvardia units engaged with Wagner at any point”.

“,”elementId”:”782bfe1e-701a-472d-9063-7c30804f1e1d”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement”,”html”:”

n

Rosgvardia’s founding mission is to protect internal threats to the security of the Russian government such as an advance on Moscow, and it is notable that Rosgvardia failed to engage even as Wagner captured critical military assets in Rostov-on-Don and destroyed Russian military aircraft

n

“,”elementId”:”a93bef07-0927-4096-99d0-11fff7fea00c”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

It also noted that though Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said he had mobilised his forces – which supposedly specialise in domestic security – in response to the Wagner advance, they also “unsurprisingly” never engaged with Wagner. This is “in line with Kadyrov’s paramount objective of maintaining his own internal security force,” the ISW said.

“,”elementId”:”d5ee29b5-d5e4-4135-9716-56a2d99059f1″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

It concluded:

“,”elementId”:”d2cdc351-381b-46a1-865f-c065351a95cc”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement”,”html”:”

n

The Kremlin’s dedicated internal security organs failed to respond to an independent military force capturing the headquarters of the SMD [southern military district] and advancing on Moscow – and Wagner likely could have reached the outskirts of Moscow if Prigozhin chose to order them to do so.

n

“,”elementId”:”8bd47c5c-8ddc-455c-a2a7-0b008ad46d2c”}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1687665086000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”23.51 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1687669905000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”01.11 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1687665455000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”23.57 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”23.57″,”title”:”Kremlin struggled to put together coherent response to Wagner mutiny, US thinktank says”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Sun 25 Jun 2023 06.27 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Sat 24 Jun 2023 21.19 EDT”},{“id”:”64979ed48f08c081c5bb7d6d”,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Russian president Vladimir Putin is “obviously very afraid” and “probably hiding”, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said in his latest evening address.

“,”elementId”:”4bb26878-ddbd-4351-846e-868f660b895a”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

“The man from the Kremlin is obviously very afraid and probably hiding somewhere, not showing himself. I am sure that he is no longer in Moscow … He knows what he is afraid of because he himself created this threat,” Zelenskiy said.

“,”elementId”:”1ea8dee5-6d58-463a-b02b-ca4500658bb5″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Putin has not commented on the Belarus-brokered deal that negotiated Prigozhin’s exit from Russia and the withdrawal of Wagner troops from Rostov. He is believed to have left Moscow on a plane on Saturday afternoon and his whereabouts are unclear.

“,”elementId”:”ad73587c-c096-477b-adee-bd7d6178c7c7″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

His apparent departure from the capital contrasts notably with that of Zelenskiy, who remained in Kyiv when Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine last year.

“,”elementId”:”2769f66b-602c-4807-9a19-3207e0e905fb”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

“Today the world saw that the bosses of Russia do not control anything. Nothing at all. Complete chaos. Complete absence of any predictability. And it is happening on Russian territory, which is fully loaded with weapons,” said Zelenskiy.

“,”elementId”:”5909abc2-f1b6-4bac-8f9d-7e7b18a28097″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

“In one day, they lost several of their million-plus cities and showed all Russian bandits, mercenaries, oligarchs and anyone else how easy it is to capture Russian cities and, probably, arsenals with weapons.”

“,”elementId”:”97376ca8-aaca-4470-b883-986c955e0ed8″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement”,”media”:{“allImages”:[{“index”:0,”fields”:{“height”:”2999″,”width”:”5000″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://lifewrap.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/localimages/140.jpg64981a21b9327.jpg”}]},”data”:{“alt”:”Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy.”,”credit”:”Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters”},”displayCredit”:true,”role”:”inline”,”imageSources”:[{“weighting”:”inline”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=bf9b520feffa6315330dc0d34ade3e31″,”width”:620},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=2b4cfb8e76433b5743ac01fe3b5336b8″,”width”:1240},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=605&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=ea33004f71543d1dcfacb2ff2c078e37″,”width”:605},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=605&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=65e0b9afebe4f7d297b1adcde2f49449″,”width”:1210},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=445&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=2e66069623403ee6948645120f6b41b3″,”width”:445},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=445&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=8057c5fff4d4de3b9749c88e9b5589ae”,”width”:890}]},{“weighting”:”thumbnail”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=cf960d991acc0a6823487526937999e5″,”width”:140},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=140&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=98358875b7eacfad7ef11d3ca175d4f3″,”width”:280},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=120&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=0bf4b294226b37d4b2b5c7d09e627383″,”width”:120},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=120&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=c5477e26182877c65db91b053bd3c7f1″,”width”:240}]},{“weighting”:”supporting”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=380&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=2e6ac397a222ffb7e915e0f687b19036″,”width”:380},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=380&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=15038329b0a0ff8c925c3d9425a2a5f8″,”width”:760},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=ee31a61060cfdf2b94d68d40ea583bfb”,”width”:300},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=300&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=8da8fb06deb9ba995d7f30b46f0a637a”,”width”:600},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=bf9b520feffa6315330dc0d34ade3e31″,”width”:620},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=2b4cfb8e76433b5743ac01fe3b5336b8″,”width”:1240},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=605&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=ea33004f71543d1dcfacb2ff2c078e37″,”width”:605},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=605&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=65e0b9afebe4f7d297b1adcde2f49449″,”width”:1210},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=445&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=2e66069623403ee6948645120f6b41b3″,”width”:445},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=445&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=8057c5fff4d4de3b9749c88e9b5589ae”,”width”:890}]},{“weighting”:”showcase”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=860&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=c045b703647c9c2e7f999c4bc8b013f0″,”width”:860},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=860&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=f2e0d7eac84d82d0f50436779f55c995″,”width”:1720},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=780&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=6f43a1f48ac66b04d547da32c8e04405″,”width”:780},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=780&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=a4daecf89466915025f55875510d8fd2″,”width”:1560},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=bf9b520feffa6315330dc0d34ade3e31″,”width”:620},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=2b4cfb8e76433b5743ac01fe3b5336b8″,”width”:1240},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=605&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=ea33004f71543d1dcfacb2ff2c078e37″,”width”:605},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=605&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=65e0b9afebe4f7d297b1adcde2f49449″,”width”:1210},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=445&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=2e66069623403ee6948645120f6b41b3″,”width”:445},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=445&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=8057c5fff4d4de3b9749c88e9b5589ae”,”width”:890}]},{“weighting”:”halfwidth”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=bf9b520feffa6315330dc0d34ade3e31″,”width”:620},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=2b4cfb8e76433b5743ac01fe3b5336b8″,”width”:1240},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=605&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=ea33004f71543d1dcfacb2ff2c078e37″,”width”:605},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=605&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=65e0b9afebe4f7d297b1adcde2f49449″,”width”:1210},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=445&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=2e66069623403ee6948645120f6b41b3″,”width”:445},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=445&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=8057c5fff4d4de3b9749c88e9b5589ae”,”width”:890}]},{“weighting”:”immersive”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=1900&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=ea1c2d50099d5b9b94c2b3c1ffeabdae”,”width”:1900},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=1900&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=ff52e4974ce2de6ffa0b6e202323e7e3″,”width”:3800},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=1300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=6cb1890fcc7b1c348c488a63cdb9ecac”,”width”:1300},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=1300&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=fed47dc92012cb66f7d3e211590ce09d”,”width”:2600},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=1140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=c5caea6b8398d22f2c4776016e6912c4″,”width”:1140},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=1140&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=983eaefdf6e6bd10dbcac56101138488″,”width”:2280},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=980&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=a1981a6c9fa3ea5ce0b68a20e6daeb68″,”width”:980},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=980&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=fde289f81103ee0805525923dd216900″,”width”:1960},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=740&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=7fdf56850aa10d9cc8b075d7ce68a3da”,”width”:740},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=740&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=54352646e2c81b5def097fd55c8e1d13″,”width”:1480},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=660&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=3930c1a6a3bf53e9a0a2b8c84cf5bfdf”,”width”:660},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=660&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=a7de3141d7084c3706cde1532550c090″,”width”:1320},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=480&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=9dd6c22af26d6f70f8197f8cefe8e8c2″,”width”:480},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9e65a409356f1e619130c046ded06fd1493db2d2/0_0_5000_2999/master/5000.jpg?width=480&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=b434f82c932bedebd09e6ef79ce1d92b”,”width”:960}]}],”elementId”:”73663e08-0041-4f3c-8c8e-462275cd7361″}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1687658196000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”21.56 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1687659136000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”22.12 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1687659137000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”22.12 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”22.12″,”title”:”Putin ‘obviously very afraid’ and ‘probably hiding’, Zelenskiy says”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Sun 25 Jun 2023 06.27 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Sat 24 Jun 2023 21.19 EDT”},{“id”:”649799848f08657ec73226a0″,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

US spy agencies picked up information suggesting Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was planning to take action against Russia’s military leadership as early as mid-June, US media has reported.

“,”elementId”:”f5c61084-98fd-430b-b63d-7ee5d419850e”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Over the past two weeks there was “high concern” about what may happen regarding president Vladimir Putin’ grip on power and the country’s nuclear arsenal, the Washington Post reported, citing anonymous US officials.

“,”elementId”:”fef5edc7-8428-4ddd-aeb6-18a21abcd678″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

The exact timing and nature of Prigozhin’s plans were not clear until Friday, when the Wagner leader first began posting about an alleged Russian rocket attack on his forces, but “there were enough signals to be able to tell the leadership … that something was up,” the Post quoted one official as saying.

“,”elementId”:”4770d9d3-1fb6-44cf-994d-5a470f79014d”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

According to the New York Times, senior American national security officials had indications as early as Wednesday that Prigozhin was preparing to take action and intelligence officials conducted briefings with the Biden administration and defence officials on the same day.

“,”elementId”:”16ac1e53-be2f-46de-b7a4-0eb850cd91ee”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

A narrow group of congressional leaders were informed on Thursday, when additional confirmation of the plot came in, the Times reported.

“,”elementId”:”286647fb-4ed0-4ad2-9264-906418ebb889″}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1687656836000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”21.33 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1687657856000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”21.50 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1687657615000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”21.46 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”21.46″,”title”:”US suspected Prigozhin plan to launch action against military leadership, US media reports”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Sun 25 Jun 2023 06.27 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Sat 24 Jun 2023 21.19 EDT”},{“id”:”6497937e8f08657ec732268e”,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin has agreed to leave Russia and ordered his fighters to withdraw from Rostov and halt their march on Moscow, under the terms of a deal negotiated by Belarus.

“,”elementId”:”4e1bdbf9-9dd7-4ab0-b564-4ccddd441873″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

At the end of an extraordinary day, during which a visibly angry Vladimir Putin had made an emergency television broadcast railing against the “deadly threat to our state”, Progozhin said that he wanted to avoid shedding Russian blood and would order his troops back to their bases instead.

“,”elementId”:”60978af3-ffac-48db-a374-5f43f0c53ccf”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the criminal case that had been opened against Prigozhin for armed mutiny would be dropped, and the Wagner fighters who had taken part in his “march for justice” would not face any action in recognition of their previous service to Russia.

“,”elementId”:”020956bf-32a4-4f2b-8861-353d4318a70e”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Videos later showed Prigozhin, who said his men had reached within 125 miles (200 km) of the capital, and his fighters leaving Rostov.

“,”elementId”:”e247973f-c0c6-419b-9ba8-69a21e6664e3″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Here’s our full report by Andrew Roth and Pjotr Sauer:

“,”elementId”:”96f376a1-ab7e-48d0-bc92-baade5498650″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement”,”url”:”https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jun/24/rebel-chief-halts-tank-advance-moscow-yevgeny-prigozhin-putin”,”text”:”Wagner rebel chief halts tank advance on Moscow ‘to stop bloodshed’”,”prefix”:”Related: “,”role”:”thumbnail”,”elementId”:”7f18b51c-01af-4e93-949a-4c9a50cc9802″}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1687655967000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”21.19 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1687656664000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”21.31 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1687656664000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”21.31 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”21.31″,”title”:”Wagner boss Prigozhin agrees to call off march on Moscow and leave the country”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Sun 25 Jun 2023 06.27 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Sat 24 Jun 2023 21.19 EDT”},{“id”:”64978f518f084ea43c43fcf5″,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Events in Russia have been unfolding at breakneck pace over the past 24 hours after Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin launched a march on Moscow aiming to oust the country’s military leadership, only to call it off on the same day and agree to leave the country for Belarus.

“,”elementId”:”743f7f01-ac22-4624-8914-df7e25080623″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Here’s a roundup of the key developments:

“,”elementId”:”526af71e-937a-4215-8d7f-8a228d906f1e”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

n

• In an abrupt about-face, Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said he had called off his troops’ march on Moscow and ordered them to move out of Rostov. Under a deal brokered by Belarus, Prigozhin agreed to leave Russia and move to Belarus. He will not face charges and Wagner troops who took part in the rebellion will not face any action in recognition of their previous service to Russia.

n

• In a statement, Prigozhin said that he wanted to avoid the spilling of “Russian blood”. “Now the moment has come when blood can be shed,” he said. “Therefore, realising all the responsibility for the fact that Russian blood will be shed from one side, we will turn our convoys around and go in the opposite direction to our field camps.”

n

• The Wagner leader was later pictured leaving the headquarters of the southern military district (SMD) in Rostov, which his forces had occupied on Saturday. Wagner forces also shot down three military helicopters and had entered the Lipetsk region, about 360km (225 miles) south of Moscow, before they were called back.

n

• Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko’s press office was the first to announce that Prigozhin would be backing down, saying that Lukashenko had negotiated a de-escalation with the Wagner head after talking to Russian president Vladimir Putin. Lukashenko said that Putin has since thanked him for his negotiation efforts.

n

• Putin has not publicly commented on Lukashenko’s deal with Prigozhin. He appeared on television earlier on Saturday in an emergency broadcast, issuing a nationwide call for unity in the face of a mutinous strike that he compared to the revolution of 1917. “Any internal mutiny is a deadly threat to our state, to us as a nation,” he said.

n

• Putin reportedly took a plane out of Moscow heading north-west on Saturday afternoon. It is unclear where he went or his current whereabouts.

n

• Before the Belarus deal was announced, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that: “Everyone who chooses the path of evil destroys himself. Whoever throws hundreds of thousands into the war, eventually must barricade himself in the Moscow region from those whom he himself armed.”

n

• Ukraine’s military said on Saturday its forces made advances near Bakhmut, on the eastern front, and further south. Deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar said an offensive was launched near a group of villages ringing Bakhmut, which was taken by Wagner forces in May after months of fighting. Oleksandr Tarnavskiy, commander of the southern front, said Ukrainian forces had liberated an area near Krasnohorivka, west of the Russian-held regional centre of Donetsk.

n

“,”elementId”:”d5ed41be-abf1-47a8-ae5a-079e15a7389c”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

I’m Helen Livingstone and I’ll be bringing you all the latest news on the conflict in Ukraine and the crisis in Russia.

“,”elementId”:”9a79c827-402d-43c7-9eb3-c6395e0a19d8″}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1687655967000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”21.19 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1687655963000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”21.19 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1687655967000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”21.19 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”21.19″,”title”:”Opening summary”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Sun 25 Jun 2023 06.27 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Sat 24 Jun 2023 21.19 EDT”}],”filterKeyEvents”:false,”format”:{“display”:0,”theme”:0,”design”:10},”id”:”key-events-carousel-mobile”}”>

Key events

Show key events only

Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature

An analyst has said President Putin “underestimated” Wagner group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, who led the armed rebellion yesterday.

Independent political analyst Konstantin Kalachev told AFP: “The crisis of institutions and trust was not obvious to many in Russia and the West yesterday. Today, it is clear.

“Yesterday’s call for unity made by representatives of the elites only confirmed this. Behind these is a crisis of institutions and fears for themselves,” he said.

He noted that Russian leaders would be concerned by the sight of civilian onlookers applauding Wagner units in Rostov.

“Putin’s position is weakened,” he said. “Putin underestimated Prigozhin, just as he underestimated Zelensky before that … He could have stopped this with a phone call to Prigozhin but he did not.”

Western leaders remain resistant to the idea of Vladimir Putin stepping down, Alexander Litvinenko’s widow Marina has suggested.

She told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: “They accept Ukrainian people in a different country they have support, but they still want to keep Putin, and at least to have some kind of controlling of Russia.

“(After what happened on Saturday) we can see, Putin doesn’t control nothing. If you want to save Russia from collapsing you need to take Putin out from this place.”

She urged Western leaders to not communicate with Mr Putin as the leader of Russia.

Heavily armed Russian mercenaries pulled out of the southern Russian city of Rostov overnight after halting their advance on Moscow under a deal that defused an unprecedented challenge to the authority of President Vladimir Putin.

Under the deal, mediated by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, fighters of the Wagner group would return to base in return for guarantees for their safety and their leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, would move to Belarus.

However, the aborted mutiny raises big questions about Putin’s grip on a country he has ruled with an iron hand for more than two decades. Italy’s foreign minister, echoing other analysts, said it had shattered the “myth” of Russian unity.

Prigozhin, a former Putin ally, whose forces fought the bloodiest battles of the 16-month war in Ukraine, said his decision to advance on Moscow was intended to remove corrupt and incompetent Russian commanders he blames for botching the war.

Read our snapshot of the most significant developments in this incident:

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 Reuters reports.

Videos shared on social media from Rostov overnight purportedly showed the mercenaries withdrawing from the city in a convoy of armoured vehicles, tanks and coaches to the sound of cheers and celebratory gunfire from local residents.

“Take care of yourselves,” shouted one woman. Reuters said they were able to verify the location of the video but not the date that it was filmed.

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.

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.”

An uprising by the Wagner mercenary group suggests Vladimir Putin has “lost authority” in Russia, a former MI6 officer has said.

Christopher Steele told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme: “What’s changed I think is that Vladimir Putin has lost authority and legitimacy within Russia and has been challenged in a way, yes he’s managed to worm his way out of it for the present.

“To see events unfold in Russia yesterday and the speed with which the situation seemed to spiral out of control must be very concerning for Putin and the people around him.”

Chief Secretary to the Treasury John Glen also told the show tensions in Russia were “concerning” but insisted it was not something the UK would intervene in.

“Nothing has changed in respect to the government’s position in supporting Ukraine.”

The Shadow levelling up secretary, Lisa Nandy, told the programme that NATO allies should show a “completely united front” against a “splintering set of Russian forces”.

Wagner fighters were leaving Russia’s southern Voronezh region Sunday, the local governor said, after the group halted a dramatic rebellion to bring down Russia’s top brass and U-turned on a march to Moscow.

Little is known about what happened in Voronezh region on Saturday, where Russia said the army was deployed and led “combat” operations. A huge unexplained fire raged at an oil depot in the city during the mutiny.

“The movement of Wagner units through the Voronezh region is ending,” Voronezh governor Alexander Gusev said according to AFP.

The movement “is running normally and without incidents,” Gusev added, saying travel restrictions imposed during Saturday’s operation against the mutiny will be lifted once “the situation is finally resolved.”

Gusev said authorities will inform residents about compensation for damage and thanked them for their “endurance, firmness and reason”.

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.

Independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta is reporting that PMC Wagner’s military hardware damaged over 10,000 square metres (6.2 square miles) of road surface.

It cites Mayor Alexey Logvinenko as saying it is expected that repairs to the road will take two days.

The Wagner fighters had captured the city of Rostov overnight on Friday and had reportedly maintained complete control of the region on Saturday.

But on Saturday night, Wagner fighters loaded tanks on trailers and began withdrawing from the Rostov military headquarters they had seized, a Reuters witness said.

China Foreign Minister Qin Gang and Russia Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko have met in Beijing, in the first public meeting of diplomats from the two countries since mutinous mercenaries threatened to storm the Russian capital.

The two exchanged views on “international and regional issues of common concern”, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Sunday.

They also exchanged views on China-Russia relations, the ministry said on its website.

Chinese leaders have not responded publicly to news of the armed rebellion and the Wall Street Journal reports the events received limited coverage in Chinese media, in stark contrast to the in-depth coverage of the mutiny in Western meedia.

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 said they were unable immediately to verify the report.

Analysts have been trying to explain the tumultuous events of the last 24 hours, which saw the greatest challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin in his more than two decades in power.

Many questions remained unanswered, including whether chief mutineer Yevgeny Prigozhin would be joined in exile by any of Wagner’s troops and what role, if any, he might have there.

But 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.

A possible motivation for Prigozhin’s rebellion was the Russian Defense Ministry’s demand, which Putin backed, that private companies sign contracts with it by July 1. Prigozhin had refused to do it.

“It may well be that he struck now because he saw that deadline as a danger to his control of his troops,” Herbst wrote in an article for the Atlantic Council.

Ukrainians hoped the Russian infighting would create opportunities for their army to take back territory seized by Russian forces.

“These events will have been of great comfort to the Ukrainian government and the military,” said Ben Barry, senior fellow for land warfare at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. He said that even with a deal, Putin’s position has probably been weakened.

The Ukrainian military claims to have “liquidated” 720 Russian military people in the last 24 hours, in unverified figures released today.

As of today, the Russians have suffered a total of 224,630 combat losses since the start of the war on 24 February, according to the Ukrainian ministry of defence. Yesterday, the Ukrainians claimed to have caused 223,910 Russian losses.

The Ukrainians also said in the last day they destroyed six tanks, 19 artillery systems, two anti-aircraft war systems, 41 cruise missiles, among other military equipment.

Both Ukraine and Russia have consistently claimed the other side has sustained devastatingly high casualties, but it has not been possible to verify battlefield claims from either side.

Western diplomats told Reuters on 5 June that Russia’s deaths and casualties totalled around 200,000.

An “anti-terrorist operation regime” was still in force in Moscow on Sunday, a day after mutinous Wagner mercenaries threatened to storm the Russian capital, in a dramatic security crisis for President Vladimir Putin.

The anti-terrorist regime was introduced in Moscow on Saturday, as the Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s forces appeared to advance on the capital, with authorities asking residents to limit travel.

Moscow authorities also said that a day off work introduced to curb movement around the city on Monday would remain in place for security reasons.

Authorities in the Kaluga region, south of Moscow, said on Saturday they were starting to lift road restrictions introduced to stop the Wagner rebellion.

In the southern city of Voronezh, where the army said it was leading “combat” a day earlier, emergency services they put out a huge fire at an oil depot that burned during the mutiny.

Authorities had not explained the cause of the fire, with images on social media showing a large black cloud of smoke. Some Russian media reported there was a helicopter nearby before an explosion in the area.

Here’s our full report on the latest developments

The chief of the rebel Wagner mercenary force Yevgeny Prigozhin will leave Russia and won’t face charges after calling off his troops’ advance towards Moscow, as reports emerged that US spy agencies had picked up signs days ago that he was preparing to rise up against Russia’s defence establishment.

Late on Saturday, video emerged of Prigozhin leaving the headquarters of the southern military district in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don after agreeing to move to Belarus. His exact whereabouts on Sunday morning were not clear. Images also showed Wagner fighters withdrawing from the city.

The developments came amid reports in the Washington Post and New York Times that said US intelligence officials had conducted briefings at the White House, the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill about the potential for unrest in nuclear-armed Russia a full day before it unfolded.

Read more:

If you’re just joining us, here’s a roundup of all the latest developments:

• In an abrupt about-face, Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said he had called off his troops’ march on Moscow and ordered them to move out of Rostov. Under a deal brokered by Belarus, Prigozhin agreed to leave Russia and move to Belarus. He will not face charges and Wagner troops who took part in the rebellion will not face any action in recognition of their previous service to Russia.

• In a statement, Prigozhin said that he wanted to avoid the spilling of “Russian blood”. “Now the moment has come when blood can be shed,” he said. “Therefore, realising all the responsibility for the fact that Russian blood will be shed from one side, we will turn our convoys around and go in the opposite direction to our field camps.”

• The Wagner leader was later pictured leaving the headquarters of the southern military district (SMD) in Rostov, which his forces had occupied on Saturday. Wagner forces also shot down three military helicopters and had entered the Lipetsk region, about 360km (225 miles) south of Moscow, before they were called back.

• Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko’s press office was the first to announce that Prigozhin would be backing down, saying that Lukashenko had negotiated a de-escalation with the Wagner head after talking to Russian president Vladimir Putin. Lukashenko said that Putin has since thanked him for his negotiation efforts.

• Putin has not publicly commented on Lukashenko’s deal with Prigozhin. He appeared on television earlier on Saturday in an emergency broadcast, issuing a nationwide call for unity in the face of a mutinous strike that he compared to the revolution of 1917. “Any internal mutiny is a deadly threat to our state, to us as a nation,” he said.

• Putin reportedly took a plane out of Moscow heading north-west on Saturday afternoon. It is unclear where he went or his current whereabouts.

• Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that Putin was “obviously very afraid” and “probably hiding”. In his latest evening address, Zelenskiy said: “Today the world saw that the bosses of Russia do not control anything. Nothing at all. Complete chaos. Complete absence of any predictability. And it is happening on Russian territory, which is fully loaded with weapons.”

• US spy agencies picked up information suggesting the Wagner leader was planning to take action against Russia’s military leadership as early as mid-June, US media has reported. The Washington Post and New York Times that said US intelligence officials had conducted briefings at the White House, the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill about the potential for unrest in nuclear-armed Russia a full day before it unfolded.

• Analysts have been confounded by events, with most saying it is too early to say whether Putin will fall but agreeing that he has been substantially damaged by the mutiny. The Institute for the Study of War noted that the Kremlin struggled to put together a coherent response to the mutiny and that “Wagner likely could have reached the outskirts of Moscow if Prigozhin chose to order them to do so.”

• Ukraine’s military said on Saturday its forces made advances near Bakhmut, on the eastern front, and further south. Deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar said an offensive was launched near a group of villages ringing Bakhmut, which was taken by Wagner forces in May after months of fighting. Oleksandr Tarnavskiy, commander of the southern front, said Ukrainian forces had liberated an area near Krasnohorivka, west of the Russian-held regional centre of Donetsk.

Ukrainian forces have reset and have been undertaking major offensive operations on three main axes in southern and eastern Ukraine over the past few days, the UK’s Ministry of Defence has said in its latest intelligence update.

Ukrainian forces are using the experiences from the first two weeks of the counter-offensive to refine tactics for assaulting the deep, well prepared Russian defences. Ukrainian units are making gradual but steady tactical progress in key areas.

It notes that Russian forces have been making their own “significant effort” to launch an attack in the Serebryanka Forest near Kremina in the eastern region of Luhansk.

This probably reflects continued Russian senior leadership orders to go on the offensive whenever possible. Russia has made some small gains, but Ukrainian forces have prevented a breakthrough.

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 reported.