Wagner’s fighters left the Voronezh and Lipetsk regions, south of Moscow.
A strategic retreat. Sunday, June 25 was marked by the continued withdrawal of the forces of the paramilitary group Wagne in Russia, putting an end to the rebellion launched by their leader Evguéni Prigojine which shook the Kremlin. A failed attempt whose consequences on the war in Ukraine are still difficult to measure. Here’s what to remember today.
The retreat of Wagner’s fighters to Russia
Wagner’s fighters left the Voronezh and Lipetsk regions, south of Moscow, on Sunday June 25, their staging points on the road to the capital, according to local authorities. The day before, they had left the military HQ which they had seized in Rostov (south-west), the nerve center of operations in Ukraine, beginning their withdrawal to avoid spilling “Russian blood”in the words of Yevgeny Prigozhin.
However, in the Russian capital as in its region, the “anti-terrorist operation regime”which grants increased powers to law enforcement, remains in effect on Sunday.
France and the United States target Russian divisions…
French President Emmanuel Macron assured that the Wagner rebellion “shows the divisions that exist within the Russian camp, the fragility of both its armies and its auxiliary forces”. Same analysis on the American side. This abortive coup reveals “actual cracks” reaching President Vladimir Putin, said the head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken.
… as China reaffirms its support for Vladimir Putin
Weakened in the eyes of Westerners, the regime of Vladimir Putin was however able to count on Sunday on the support of Beijing. “As a friendly neighbor and a strategic partner, China supports Russia in its efforts to safeguard the country’s stability,” the Chinese foreign ministry said, calling the mutiny an “internal affair”.
Russian army claims to have repelled Ukrainian advance
Moscow has tried to dispel the idea that this crisis could have consequences for its offensive in Ukraine. The Russian army thus affirmed, on Sunday, to have “successfully pushed back” the attacks carried out by the forces of kyiv in four zones of the Ukrainian front, in particular in the regions of Donetsk (east), but also of Zaporizhya (south).