Latest news from Ukraine and Russia: Putin claims army ‘stopped civil war’ | world news
An agreement brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has put an end to the rebellion led by the head of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin.
To avoid bloodshed on Russian territory, Prigozhin agreed to relocate to the neighboring country, where its leader has ruled with an iron fist since 1994.
Whether such disobedience will be tolerated by the Minsk government has yet to be clarified, but Lukashenko has known Prigozhin for almost 20 years, according to a Kremlin spokesman.
The short-lived coup was Vladimir Putin’s greatest threat in at least 20 years.
It’s the latest dramatic development and a moment that many are interpreting as the beginning of the end for the Russian president.
There is no denying that his position has been weakened, although in his address to the nation last night he stressed that “any blackmail is doomed to failure”.
Away from the unrest in Russia, Ukrainian military leaders are pushing ahead with their counter-offensive on the front lines in the south and east of the country.
