Wagner Group Russia Coup Updates: Putin, Lukashenko hold another call after thwarted mutiny

The revolt by Russia's Wagner mercenary group against President Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine has revealed "divisions" within the Russian leadership, French President Emmanuel Macron said Sunday.

The abandoned march on Moscow "shows the divisions that exist within the Russian camp, and the fragility of both its military and its auxillary forces", Macron told the Provence newspaper, saying "the situation is still developing" and he was "following the events hour by hour".

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

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

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

The dispute between Russia's President and Wagner mercenary exposed the "real crack" in Vladimir Putin's reign, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday.

To a question on whether he knew Wagner will abort his plan, Blinken in an interview with Jonathan Karl for ABC's "This Week" said, "I don't know, and I'm not sure we'll fully know, or it may be something that unfolds in the coming - in the coming days and weeks. We simply don't have a clear picture of that. And this really is fundamentally an internal matter for the Russians. We're seeing it unfold. Again, we saw the rising tensions over several months that led to this. But exactly where this goes, we don't know", according to a statement released by State Department.

"But what we do know is that we've seen real cracks emerge - again, a direct challenge to Putin's authority surfacing very publicly: the notion that this war, this aggression by Russia was being pursued under false pretenses; the notion that Ukraine or NATO somehow presented a threat to Russia that it had to deal with militarily. That's now much more out in the open than it's been. What that leads to, again, we just don't know at this point," he added.

(ANI)

US spy agencies picked up signs days ago that mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was preparing to rise up against Russia's defense establishment, US media reported on Saturday.

Intelligence officials 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, the Washington Post and New York Times reported.

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Residents of Russia's southern military district Rostov-on-Don registered their anger at the police as they were making their way to the city after the Wagner mercenary forces left on Saturday night. In a video clip that went viral on social media, people could be heard yelling at the police convoy and calling them ‘traitors’.

The recent development comes after some Rostov residents hailed Wagner fighters as heroes and brought them sweets and water, despite President Vladmir Putin called their ‘armed mutiny’ a ‘stab in the back’ for the country.

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Russian government troops withdrew from the streets of Moscow and people flocked to parks and cafes Sunday following a short-lived revolt by a mercenary forces that weakened President Vladimir Putin and raised questions about his ability to wage war in Ukraine.

The march on the capital by Wagner troops led by Yevgeny Prigozhin and the late-night deal that eventually halted it severely dented Putin’s reputation as a leader who is willing to ruthlessly punish anyone who challenges his authority. That may open the door for others who are unhappy with Putin’s two-decade grip on power, especially after his ill-fated invasion of Ukraine.

Under terms of the agreement, Prigozhin will go into exile in Belarus but will not face prosecution and his forces won't either. Neither Putin nor Prigozhin have been heard from since the deal, reportedly brokered by Belarussian President Aleksander Lukashenko, was announced Saturday night.

(AP)

Lithuania's president warned Sunday that if Belarus is to host Wagner mercenary group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin then NATO will need to strengthen its eastern flank.

The head of state, whose Baltic country neighbours both Belarus and Russia and will host next month's NATO summit, spoke after a state security council meeting to discuss Wagner's aborted revolt against the Kremlin.

After Prigozhin called off his troops' advance on Saturday, Moscow said the Wagner chief would leave Russia for Belarus and would not face charges.

(AFP)

Heavily armed Russian mercenaries withdrew from the southern Russian city of Rostov overnight under a deal that halted their rapid advance on Moscow but left unanswered questions about President Vladimir Putin's grip on power.

Ending their mutiny, fighters of the Wagner group headed back to their bases in return for guarantees for their safety. Their leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, will move to Belarus under the deal mediated by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken suggested the turmoil in Russia might not be over and could take months to play out, while Italy's foreign minister said it had shattered the "myth" of Russian unity. Putin has not made public comments since the deal was struck to de-escalate the crisis.

(Reuters)

According to Belarusian news agency BELTA, Belarus President Lukashenko had a phone call with Russia's Putin.

Wagner mercenaries were headed back to base on Sunday after Russia's President Vladimir Putin agreed to allow their leader to avoid treason charges and accept exile in Belarus.

The agreement ended the immediate threat that Yevgeny Prigozhin's private army could storm Moscow, but analysts said Wagner's revolt had exposed Putin's rule as more fragile than had been thought.

"Anti-terror" security measures were still in place in Moscow on Sunday, although fewer police were visible and passers-by said they were unconcerned, despite Prigozhin's exact whereabouts remaining unclear.

(AFP)

Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko scored a propaganda victory by brokering the deal which staved off the threat of an internal armed conflict in Russia but he may live to regret an accord that will see his country host the Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, observers say.

In a surprise statement late Saturday, Lukashenko's press service said he had spent all day in negotiations with Prigozhin, with the approval of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the Wagner boss had agreed to stop his advance towards Moscow.

The announcement was a boost for Lukashenko, who has ruled a nation that borders three EU states for almost 30 years but has been treated as a pariah by the West since disputed 2020 elections and now also because of his support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

(AFP)

In Moscow, mine was found laid on the railway tracks near the Ochakovo station

China says supports Russia in 'protecting national stability': foreign ministry

China supports Russia in maintaining its national stability, the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday, following the recent escalation in tensions in Russia.

(Reuters)

As reported by Russian news agency TASS, Putin has said that he was in constant contact with the defence ministry and that Russia remained confident in realising its plans related to the "special military operation" in Ukraine.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday that the turmoil caused by the unprecedented challenge to the authority of President Vladimir Putin by Wagner fighters may not be over yet and could take weeks or months to play out.

(Reuters)

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on Sunday said that US President Joe Biden had made no attempts to reach out to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

(Reuters)

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

Founded by Prigozhin in 2014, Wagner at its peak had about 50,000 mercenary recruits — many of them ex-prisoners — fighting in Ukraine. The US designated the group as a transnational criminal organization earlier this year, and Wagner has been sanctioned by Australia, Canada, Japan, the UK and the European Union. The group has operated for years on battlefields in the Middle East and Africa, where it’s been accused of committing widespread human rights abuses.

Wagner has murky legal status, and mercenaries are technically illegal in Russia. The group operates independently of the nation’s official armed forces, and recently rebuffed Moscow’s demands that its recruits sign formal contracts with the military.

(Bloomberg)

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

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

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

(Reuters)

The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that China has reaffirmed its interest in strengthening cooperation with Russia.

(Reuters)

President Vladimir Putin will take part in a meeting of Russia's Security Council next week, state television reported on Sunday.

The report by Rossiya 1 television station's Vesti current affairs programme did not say whether the meeting would take place on Friday as normal or be brought forward.

(Reuters)

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko became the mediator and avoided a possible bloodbath by convincing the increasingly isolated Wagner Private Military Company (PMC) founder Yevgeny Prigozhin to give up his command and withdraw to Belarus, reported TASS News Agency.

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists that the Belarusian President volunteered because he has been acquainted with Prigozhin for about 20 years.

"You will likely ask me why precisely President Lukashenko [became the mediator]? The thing is that Alexander Grigoryevich has known Prigozhin personally for a long time, about 20 years, and this was his personal initiative which was coordinated with President Putin," the Kremlin official said.

(ANI)

Amid the Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin's vow to topple the military leadership in Moscow over its handling of the war and subsequent deal to halt the revolt, former CNN Moscow bureau chief Jill Dougherty said that even though Russian President Vladimir Putin has told Prigozhin to go to Belarus, but he "doesn't forgive traitors."

In an interview to US-based news channel CNN on Saturday, Dougherty said, "Even though Putin has told Prigozhin to go to Belarus, according to the Kremlin, the Wagner chief remains a 'traitor'."

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Mutinous Russian mercenary fighters barrelled towards Moscow on Saturday after seizing a southern city overnight, with Russia's military firing on them from the air but seemingly incapable of slowing their lightning advance.

Here is a timeline of events as they have unfolded over the last 24 hours.

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