A Wagner Group mercenary with a resident of Rostov-on-Don, Russia, June 24, 2023 (Wall Street Journal)
EA on Times Radio: Rebellion in Russia; Scotland’s SNP Struggles; A Year After End of Roe v. Wade
Saturday’s Coverage: Wagner Group’s Prigozhin Declares Rebellion v. Russia’s Military Leadership
Map: Institute for Study of War
UPDATE 1527 GMT:
China has broken its silence on the Wagner Group rebellion, saying the matter is Russia’s “internal affair”.
The Foreign Ministry said in a statement, “As a friendly neighbor and a new-era comprehensive strategic cooperative partner, China supports Russia in protecting national stability and achieving development and prosperity.”
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang hosted Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko in Beijing on Sunday.
The Foreign Ministry said the two men discussed “China-Russia relations” and “international and regional issues of common concern”.
UPDATE 1208 GMT:
UK military intelligence assesses that “Ukraine forces are using the experiences from the first two weeks of [their] counter-offensive to refine tactics for assaulting the deep, well-prepared Russian defences”.
Citing a re-set and resumption of “major offensive operations” in recent days, the analysts say Ukraine is “making gradual but steady tactical progress in key areas”.
The Ukraine military said on Saturday that, on the eastern front in the Donetsk region, it liberated territory near the city of Krasnohorivka, occupied by pro-Russia separatists since 2014.
Ukrainian commander Oleksandr Tarnavsky posted, “The movement of our forces continues. There are tangible successes and progress.”
The UK analysts said Russia’s “significant effort” to advance in northeast Ukraine had “made some small gains, but Ukrainian forces have prevented a breakthrough”.
UPDATE 1148 GMT:
Kyiv has harshly criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he is taking a “pro-Russia” position.
The Zelenskiy Government issued the statement through a long Twitter statement by the Ukrainian Embassy in Tel Aviv. It said Netanyahu “has opted for a path of close cooperation with the Russian Federation”, citing a “fruitless” visit to Ukraine in February by Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and Netanyahu’s interview last Thursday.
Israel has reportedly provided some covert military assistance to Ukraine, but the Netanyahu Government has publicly rejected any provision of weapons. The Ukrainian Embassy also cited a “near absence” of humanitarian aid to Kyiv.
Regrettably, the Israeli government pays little attention to the opinions of its own people and disregards the pleas of the global Jewish diaspora, who unequivocally support Ukraine in its struggle against Russian state terrorism.
We urge the Israeli government to change its position and to support Ukraine with defensive means, to support freedom and democratic world order. We expect Israel to be on the right side of history!
In his interview with The Jerusalem Post last week, Netanyahu said he feared that any weapons sent to Ukraine could fall into the hands of the Russians and then Iran.
I think Israel is in a peculiar situation, different from say, Poland or Germany or France or any of the Western countries that are assisting Ukraine.
First of all, we have a close military border with Russia. Our pilots are flying right next to Russian pilots over the skies of Syria. And I think it’s important that we maintain our freedom of action against Iran’s attempts to place itself militarily on our northern border….
That’s not a theoretical possibility. It actually happened with the Western anti-tank weapons that we now find at our borders. So we have to be very careful here.
He gave no evidence for the claim.
UPDATE 1139 GMT:
As Vladimir Putin tried to re-assert his authority, State TV has broadcast an interview with the Russian leader, recorded on Wednesday before the Wagner Group rebellion.
He said the “special military operation” in Ukraine is his top priority: “I start and end my day with this.”
We feel confident, and, of course, we are in a position to implement all the plans and tasks ahead of us. This also applies to the country’s defense. It applies to the special military operation. It applies to the economy as a whole and its individual areas.
UPDATE 1138 GMT:
The scene in Moscow on Sunday….
The car in front of us driving through Moscow. Couldn’t have put it better myself. pic.twitter.com/aDpGecjqEd
— Steve Rosenberg (@BBCSteveR) June 25, 2023
UPDATE 1052 GMT:
The toll from Saturday’s Russian airstrikes has risen to five dead, all in Kyiv.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko said two more bodies were found on Sunday under the rubble of an apartment building virtually destroyed by a Russian missile.
Eleven people were wounded, two of whom were taken to hospital.
The Ukraine Air Force said it downed 41 of 51 missiles and two drones fired on five Ukrainian regions.
Russian shelling killed a civilian in Kherson city in southern Ukraine.
The man died from a direct strike on a room of his home. A woman was trapped under the rubble but is still alive.
The Russians injured one person and damaged three houses in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: Russia’s Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin has ended his mini-rebellion against the Kremlin after just over 24 hours, but the deal with Russia’s leadership has only raised questions about the future of Vladimir Putin’s rule and his invasion of Ukraine.
With his mercenaries in control of the city of Rostov-on-Don and the Southern Military Command headquarters and advancing within 150 miles of the capital, Prigozhin announced on Saturday night:
They wanted to disband Wagner. We set out on June 23 for the “March of Justice”. In a day we marched just short of 200 km from Moscow. During this time, we have not shed a single drop of the blood of our fighters.
Now is the moment when blood can be shed. Realizing all the responsibility for the fact that Russian blood will be shed, we are turning our columns around and leaving in the opposite direction, to our field camps, according to the plan.
Under a deal brokered by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, Prigozhin will move to Belarus. Neither he nor any of his mercenaries will suffer any consequences, with charges against the Wagner leader — carrying up to 20 years in prison — dropped.
The Wagner fighters left Rostov-on-Don to acclaim from residents. Prigohzin exited in an SUV, as people cheered and shook his hand.
One of the Wagner fighters opened fire in the sky during the withdrawal of the PMC from Rostov while civilians celebrated the mercenaries. pic.twitter.com/HpjTj98PTm
— Dmitri (@wartranslated) June 24, 2023
While the deal nominally moves Prigozhin to another country, the episode raised questions about Putin’s authority, 16 months into his troubled attempt to conquer Ukraine.
With only several thousand fighters, Wagner took over Rostov-on-Don, the main logistical hub for Russia’s invasion, without having to fire a single shot. The mercenaries downed eight Russian warplanes and helicopters, captured two armored vehicles, and killed at least 13 of Moscow’s troops.
In and near Moscow, security forces dug anti-tank ditches on main highways, set up machine-gun emplacements, and deployed infantry fighting vehicles. All public events were cancelled, and Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin declared Monday a “non-working day” to “minimize risks”.
In a speech on Saturday morning, after negotiations with Prigozhin in Roston-on-Don failed, Putin promised a “brutal” response to the “treason”: “All those who consciously embarked on the path of betrayal will suffer inevitable punishment.”
However, the Russian leader made no comment after the deal, and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov limited himself to restating the terms. There was no indication that Wagner would have to comply with this month’s decree by Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu that all combatants must sign contracts with the Ministry — a catalyst for Prigozhin’s show of force.
The mercenary leader has demanded the dismissal of Shoygu and Gen. Valery Gerasimov, the commander of the Ukraine invasion. For now, they remain in place. However, there is no sign that Prigozhin will have to end or even limit his social media campaign attacking them over their leadership and “deception” of Putin and the Russian people.
Hours before this scene, Putin gave a national speech where he called Prigozhin's actions a "stab in the back" that threatened Russia's very statehood. An this is how locals in Rostov saw him off tonight. pic.twitter.com/zQKBEy4yXp
— Kevin Rothrock (@KevinRothrock) June 24, 2023
Just before the agreement was announced, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy spoke in a video addressabout “the complete chaos” in which “the bosses of Russia do not control anything”.
He noted that far from responding with strength, “the man from the Kremlin” — “very afraid” — “showed all Russian bandits, mercenaries, oligarchs” that it is easy to “capture Russian cities and, probably, arsenals with weapons”.
We all remember how the head of Russia threatened the world in 2021. He had some ultimatums, he was trying to show a kind of strength…
The year 2022 showed that he confused – confused his illusions and the lies he was fed with strength. They in the Kremlin are capable of… pic.twitter.com/rwOhLvQJAF
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) June 24, 2023