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Agence France-Presse

Countries around the world were on Saturday closely watching events unfolding in Russia, where a mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group posed the most serious challenge yet to President Vladimir Putin’s long rule.
Here is what governments and analysts are saying about the extraordinary situation taking place in nuclear-armed Russia:
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the Wagner mutiny showed Russia was weak.
“Russia’s weakness is obvious. Full-scale weakness. And the longer Russia keeps its troops and mercenaries on our land, the more chaos, pain, and problems it will have for itself later,” he said in a statement on social media.
Putin calls Wagner rebellion ‘stab in the back’ to Russia
Deputy Defence Minister Ganna Malyar said it provided a “window of opportunity” for Kyiv on the battlefield.
US President Joe Biden was briefed on the situation in Russia and Washington and “will be consulting with allies and partners on these developments”, National Security Council spokesman Adam Hodge said.
European Union chief Charles Michel tweeted that the bloc was “closely monitoring the situation in Russia as it unfolds. In touch with European leaders and G7 partners”.
“This is clearly an internal Russian issue,” he wrote, adding that “our support for Ukraine” remains “unwavering”.
The bloc’s diplomatic chief Josep Borrell said the EU was in “permanent contact with our ambassador in Moscow and continuing our internal consultations with our member states.”

Nato spokesperson Oana Lungescu said only the alliance was “monitoring the situation”.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak urged “all parties to be responsible and to protect civilians.”
“We’re in touch with our allies as the situation evolves. I’ll be speaking to some of them later today and the most important thing is for all parties to behave responsibly,” he told the BBC.
Meanwhile, Czech politicians used the mutiny as a moment to take a stab at Russian leadership.
“I can see my summer holiday in Crimea is approaching,” said Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky, referring to the territory annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014.
“So we finally know what the Russians mean by a Special Operation,” said Czech Defence Minister Jana Cernochova.
“After 16 months of the war in Ukraine, Russia is waging war on Russia. No surprise. It’s a tradition over there. Failed wars end up with the Tsar being executed, with chaos and with a civil war supervised by snoopers. Congratulations,” she said.
Ukraine makes a Mad Max appeal for Australia to send its ‘hand-me-down’ US tanks
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, who has met Putin since the launch of the Ukraine war, warned of the nuclear risks of the instability in Russia.
“The operations of the Russian Federations are always of the utmost importance, because the Russian Federation has a great potential for biological, chemical and nuclear weapons,” he said.
In Berlin, “the government is closely following the events in Russia”, a spokesman told AFP. The foreign ministry advised avoiding central Moscow and government and military buildings in the capital.
In Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron is also keeping a close eye, the Elysee said. “We remain focused on supporting Ukraine.”
In Rome, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s office said the events “show how the aggression against Ukraine is causing instability also within Russia”.
In Sweden, Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom tweeted: “The government is closely following the situation in Russia. The situation is serious.”
In Norway, Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt said Oslo was “closely following the dramatic situation in Russia and are in close contact with the embassy in Moscow”.

Belgian Defence Minister Ludivine Dedonder tweeted that the situation was “serious” and he was watching to see “what impact it has on the conflict”.
The EU’s Borrell announced that foreign affairs ministers of the G7 nations held a call to “exchange views” on the situation on Saturday.
Borrell did not provide details of the exchange in his tweet, which Berlin also confirmed, saying German Foreign Affairs Minister Annalena Baerbock “just discussed the situation” with her G7 counterparts.
Qatar’s foreign ministry said it was following “with great concern” and urged restraint.
“The worsening situation in Russia and Ukraine will have negative repercussions on international peace and security, and on food and energy supplies, which were mainly affected by the Russian-Ukrainian crisis,” the ministry said.


The UK Ministry of Defence said in an intelligence update that “this represents the most significant challenge to the Russian state in recent times”.
“Over the coming hours, the loyalty of Russia’s security forces, and especially the Russian National Guard, will be key to how the crisis plays out,” it said in a tweet.
The US-based Institute for the Study of War said the armed rebellion was “unlikely to succeed” but that “an armed Wagner attack against the Russian military leadership in Rostov-on-Don would have significant impacts on Russia’s war effort in Ukraine”.


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Ukraine war

Ukraine war: world watches with concern as mutiny unfolds in Russia

A man holds a placard in support of Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. A mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group posed the most serious challenge yet to Putin’s long rule. Photo: Reuters

Servicemen from Wagner Group block a street with a tank reading “Siberia” in downtown Rostov-on-Don on June 24. Photo: EPA-EFE

Members of Wagner Group stand guard in a street in the city of Rostov-on-Don. Photo: AFP

Ukraine war: Russia’s war economy is awash with bags of ‘black cash’ kept out of banks

People walk past an army recruiting billboard in St Petersburg. The amount of roubles in circulation has soared at a record pace since September, when President Vladimir Putin announced Russia’s first mobilisation since World War II. Photo: AP

Putin has pledged unlimited spending on the war effort. Photo: AP

Money earmarked for the military, including regular troops, is a major reason why cash is increasingly becoming the medium of choice. Photo: AP

Russian policemen block the access to the Wagner Center building in St Petersburg on June 24. Founded by Prigozhin in May 2014, Wagner has a murky legal status in Russia. Photo: EPA-EFE

How Wagner’s Yevgeny Prigozhin turned from Kremlin defender to fierce critic of Russian military

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin poses with his soldiers in Bakhmut, Ukraine. File photo: Prigozhin Press Service via AP

Yevgeny Prigozhin (right) shows Vladimir Putin his school lunch factory outside Saint Petersburg. File photo: Sputnik/AFP

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin says Russian military is lying to Vladimir Putin about Ukraine setbacks

Yevgeny Prigozhin speaks in Bakhmut, as seen in footage posted on Telegram by a company linked to the mercenary chief in May. Photo: Telegram @concordgroup_official/AFP

Ukraine war: Vladimir Putin says Russia’s nuclear bombs now in Belarus, in warning to the West

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a plenary session of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday. Photo: RIA Novosti  via AFP

Members of Ukraine Special Operations Forces fire a 122mm howitzer towards Russian positions in the Kherson region on Tuesday. Photo: AP

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World

Europe

Russia & Central Asia

United States & Canada

Governments, analysts are monitoring the mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group that could be the most serious challenge yet to President Vladimir Putin’s long rule
US-based Institute for the Study of War says the armed rebellion is ‘unlikely to succeed’ but could have ‘significant impact’ on the Ukraine war


The mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group could be the most serious challenge yet to President Vladimir Putin’s long rule.
