Wagner Group Rebellion | The West is very attentive to the situation in Russia

(Kyiv) Many countries, including Canada, were following the situation in Russia very closely on Saturday, stressing that the next few hours would be crucial, after the rebellion of the leader of the Wagner militia Evgeny Prigojine against the Russian regular troops. A crisis that demonstrates the weakness of Moscow, according to Ukraine.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced an Incident Response Group meeting to review the situation in Russia.

Trudeau said on Twitter that Canada was in touch with its allies. “We will continue to monitor the situation closely,” he said.

Earlier, Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly wrote on Twitter that she and her counterparts from the G7 countries “meeted to discuss the events in Russia”. She did not give any further details on this subject.

“A Window of Opportunity”

Kyiv sees in the outbreak of this rebellion “a window of opportunity” for Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Defense, Ganna Maliar.

The Wagner Group mutiny illustrates the weakness of Russia, a country plunged into “evil and chaos”, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, adding that Ukraine was protecting the rest of Europe.

“Russia’s weakness is obvious. A total weakness, ”he said on social networks. “It is equally obvious that Ukraine is capable of protecting Europe against contamination by evil and Russian chaos”.

On the American side, the rebellion of the Wagner group does not “change anything” to the support of the United States and its allies for Ukraine, declared the spokesman of the State Department, Matthew Miller, before specifying that Washington counted remain “in close coordination with its allies and partners as the situation continues to evolve”.

Latvia, meanwhile, has tightened security at its borders, no longer allowing Russians to enter its territory, its president-designate Edgars Rinkevics announced on Twitter.

European Union and G7

The head of diplomacy of the European Union, Josep Borrell, after noting at first that the event was “an internal problem in Russia”, while indicating to follow the situation “carefully”, recalled in a tweet that “our support for Ukraine is unwavering”.

He also said he had activated the EU’s “crisis response center” to coordinate exchanges between the Twenty-Seven, ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers scheduled for Monday in Luxembourg.

And added that the foreign ministers of the G7 had also met on Saturday, without giving any details on the content of these exchanges.

The Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin received “full support” from his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a telephone interview on Saturday.

Belarus

Wagner’s rebellion is a “gift” to the West, said the Belarusian National Security Council.

“Any provocation, any internal conflict in the military or political ranks, in the field of information or in civil society, it is a gift made to the West [et] this can lead to a disaster”.

“Protect civilians”

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called on the BBC on Saturday for “all parties to be responsible and to protect civilians”, adding that he was following the situation “closely”.

“In the hours to come, the loyalty of the Russian security forces, in particular the Russian National Guard, will be essential for the outcome of the crisis. This represents the most important challenge for the Russian state in recent times, ”wrote for its part the Ministry of Defense, in a daily point on Twitter.

Many European countries (France, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Belgium) have reacted to the situation in Russia, ensuring, through their government departments or ministers, by press releases or on Twitter, “to follow the situation very closely” or “very carefully”, adding for some other comments or advice of caution with regard to their nationals in Russia.

“We remain focused on supporting Ukraine,” the French presidency said.

“These events show how the aggression against Ukraine is also causing instability in the country,” said Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, quoted by her services.

“We are coordinating with our closest allies,” the German Chancellery announced.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs advises travelers “to avoid downtown Moscow until further notice”, as well as “government facilities, especially military”.

Norway also advises against all travel to Russia.

Denmark advises its citizens in Russia “to stay indoors, [de] wait and [de s’]inform through media such as Itar-Tass”.

Bulgaria also asks its nationals “to avoid going to Russia” because of the current tensions.

“Nuclear Danger”

Conservative Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, one of the few heads of government to meet Putin in Moscow after the outbreak of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, insisted on the nuclear danger.

“The operations of the Russian Federation are always of the utmost importance, because [elle] has great potential for biological, chemical and nuclear weapons. In this, the cohesion and unity of the EU are of the utmost importance”.

Austria also advises its nationals in Russia to avoid Russian territories bordering Ukraine, including the Rostov and Krasnodar regions, and calls for vigilance in Moscow and in major cities.

Irony

Finally the Czech Republic, through the voice of two of its ministers, reacted on Saturday with a certain irony.

“There, we finally know what the Russians meant by a Special Operation. After 16 months of war in Ukraine, Russia is waging war on Russia,” Defense Minister Jana Cernochova said.

” It is not a surprise. It’s a tradition with them. Failed wars always end with the execution of the Tsar, followed by chaos and a civil war overseen by Secret Service spies. Congratulation ! “, she added.

As for Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky, he contented himself with a laconic: “I can see that my summer holidays in Crimea are approaching”.

With The Canadian Press