The brief rebellion by Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin is likely to bolster those in Washington seeking to enhance support for Ukraine’s war effort.
(Bloomberg) — The brief rebellion by Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin is likely to bolster those in Washington seeking to enhance support for Ukraine’s war effort.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko confirmed Prigozhin arrived in his country days after negotiating an agreement to end the mutiny, which saw Prigozhin’s Wagner forces come within about 200 kilometers (125 miles) of Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier said his country had averted a “civil war.”
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Top General May Have Known of Prigozhin Plan, Report Says (4:05 a.m.)
A top Russian general who has been an ally of Prigozhin knew something of his plans for a rebellion, the New York Times reported, citing anonymous sources.
The newspaper said US officials were trying to determine whether the general, Sergei Surovikin, and other Russian military leaders supported Prigozhin’s move. The officials, according to the Times, think Prigozhin would not have acted unless he believed that he had powerful support.
Surovikin was replaced as commander of Russian forces in Ukraine in January after holding that post since October. Before that, he had been commander-in-chief of Russia’s aerospace forces and led operations in Syria.
Uprising Boosts Support for More US Arms to Ukraine (11:24 p.m.)
The 24-hour mutiny by mercenaries is likely to bolster those in Washington seeking to boost support for Ukraine’s war effort.
The failed rebellion by Yevgeny Prigozhin’s soldiers-for-hire against Russian government forces may spur bolder commitments from other NATO countries when their leaders gather next month in Vilnius, Lithuania, according to a person familiar with the Biden administration’s thinking.
Russian Rocket Strike Kills 3 in Ukraine Restaurant (10:30 p.m.)
At least three people were killed and more than 40 wounded in a Russian rocket strike that hit a restaurant in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine, authorities said Tuesday, according to AFP.
Ukrainian police said Russia fired two S-300 surface-to-air missiles at the city.
The Ukrainian emergency service said on Telegram that 42 people were injured in the strike, which destroyed the popular Ria Pizza restaurant.
US Slaps New Sanctions on Wagner Companies (8:30 p.m.)
The US announced new sanctions targeting the Wagner Group’s gold-mining activities in Africa as part of a bid to hamper the mercenary group’s ability to fund itself.
Tuesday’s action was the latest in a string of sanctions imposed on Wagner and Prigozhin by the US and its allies. A person familiar with the US stance, who asked not to be identified discussing internal deliberations, said the action had been planned well before Prigozhin’s forces launched the mutiny over the weekend.
Lukashenko Says He Told Prigozhin to Stop or Be Crushed (6:01 p.m.)
The Belarusian leader said he personally intervened with Putin and the founder of the Wagner mercenary group to prevent bloodshed during the weekend mutiny in Russia.
Lukashenko said he urged Putin not to kill Prigozhin and warned the Wagner chief to stop his soldiers’ advance or “you will be crushed halfway like a bug,” according to Belta.
Lukashenko Confirms Prigozhin Arrived in Belarus (3:47 p.m.)
Lukashenko said he will “help” Wagner mercenaries at their own expense if they decide to spend some time in Belarus, the state-run Belta new service reported. He also raised the prospect of discussing Wagner becoming a unit within Belarusian military.
While a significant part of Russian nuclear arms has already been delivered to Belarus, Lukashenko ruled out that the group would be taking part in guarding them.
The group is looking to set up some camps in Belarus, but so far “they are in Luhansk in their camps,” Belta cited Lukashenko as saying.
South Africa Reinforces Neutral Stance (3:30 p.m.)
South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor made clear after talks with her German counterpart that the armed rebellion by Wagner group mercenaries won’t alter her country’s neutral stance on Russia’s war on Ukraine.
“My understanding is: There isn’t a mutiny, there was an attempted mutiny,” Pandor told reporters at a joint news conference with Annalena Baerbock in Pretoria on Tuesday. “It will not affect our intention of continuing to engage with both” Russia and Ukraine, she added.
Russia Fully Financed Wagner Army, Putin Says (2:38 p.m.)
The Wagner group was fully financed from the state budget through the Defense Ministry, President Putin said on state television.
In the year through May, Putin said the government spent about 276 billion rubles ($3.2 billion) on salaries and insurance for Wagner as well as on payments to its owner for food and catering supplies to the army.
Without mentioning Prigozhin by name, Putin said he hoped that “no one stole anything, or, let’s say, stole just a little in the course of this work. But we will of course deal with all this.”
McCarthy Says Putin Looks Weaker After Rebellion (2:22 p.m.)
US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said that the challenge to Putin from the Wagner group showed that he has become “isolated” and “slow to make decisions.”
In an interview Tuesday on CNBC, the California Republican said that Putin in the past would never have allowed Prigozhin to become powerful enough to mount a mutiny against the Russian government.
“Prigozhin was very public for the last month or so criticizing Putin severely like nobody else has done,” McCarthy said. “He threatened many different ways. The Putin of old, Prigozhin would have fallen out a window or something. This would have never sustained itself.”
Putin Says Russia Avoided ‘Civil War’ (1:20 p.m.)
Putin hailed Russia’s military and paid tribute to the military pilots killed during Prigozhin’s mutiny after earlier calling Wagner Group members who revolted “traitors.”
“You in fact prevented a civil war,” Putin told 2,500 troops assembled at a televised Kremlin ceremony.
Pope Francis Sends Peace Envoy to Moscow (12:30 p.m.)
Pope Francis is sending an envoy to Moscow in an effort to foster what the Vatican called “gestures of humanity” that could eventually help end Russia’s war on Ukraine. Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi will visit the Russian capital on Wednesday and Thursday and Corriere della Sera newspaper reported that he would meet with the head of Russia’s Orthodox Church and Russian government officials.
“The primary purpose of the initiative is to encourage gestures of humanity, that may contribute to promoting a solution to the tragic current situation, and to find ways to reach a just peace,” according to a Vatican statement.
Orban Plays Down Mutiny Impact (11:45 a.m.)
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said the Wagner mutiny won’t have any impact on the course of the war and dismissed the idea that Putin has been weakened.
“If someone speculates that Putin might fail or be replaced, then they do not understand the Russian people and Russian power structures,” Orban was quoted as saying by Germany’s Bild newspaper in an interview.
“The structures in Russia are very stable,” he added. “They are based on the army, the secret service, the police, so it is a different kind of country, it is a military-oriented country.”
(An earlier version corrected month that Surovikin was replaced as commander.)
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